Sinthetic
by Scytherageroses
Summary: Best friends. Brothers. Lovers. When Sub Zero flees the Lin Kuei, Smoke is ordered to track him down and murder him. Can he fulfill his mission, or will his emotions get the best of him? (Construction complete! Come on back in!)
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

He is bleeding. One hit after the other. Metallic hits flesh. The stench of blood splattering on the walls, he is nearing death.

A knife comes out, digs into his back, dragging down. Newly formed blood begins to drip down. First it rains, then it pours.

His face smashes into the dirty, cold grimy floor. The cyborg cares not what he does, smashing the concealed face against the floor of the apartment he once shared his most wonderful moments.

With him.

His new victim.

His victim's face mask is gone, ripped up and bloody, to reveal a handsome face, high cheekbones, a distinctively Chinese face, with American features, thick neck length black hair now ripped into pieces on the floor, and a scar over his right eye.

"S-Smoke..." the victim said, holding up his hand to plead with his assassin.

The cyborg said nothing, and only continued. His steel-toed boot retracted, then snapped forward, slamming into his victim's forehead, nearly fracturing the skull. He could feel the bones dripping from their places. His body flinched, his spinal cord almost snapped, and more blood fell from his mouth, from his body, everywhere.

"S-stop this foolishness! You and I, we were best friends! Don't you remember me?" he yelled. And still, the cyborg said nothing.

After all, a cyborg bears no emotion. He has no memory, no remorse for anything he does. He just simply kills.

"Don't you remember me...we were partners with the Lin Kuei...don't you remember...when we first met.." he said, then chuckled,"I couldn't even get your damned ethnicity right...you freaked out over me calling you Polish...actually, you freaked out over everything...you were such a child. Such a princess...how could you have turned into this?"

And still, Smoke said nothing. He stared on, and held out his arms, his chest opening to release his trident, when the man clutched himself and said,"I..I loved you, Tomas.."

He closed his eyes, waiting for the attack, but nothing came out. The cyborg simply stood there, looking down at his victim, a man named Kuai Liang, better known as Sub Zero.

Memories suddenly flashed through the cyborg's mind, but they were too fast to grasp. He suddenly began pacing around the room, firing rockets, dropping smoke bombs, and his trident flew out, flailing in the air, when Smoke fell to the floor, ready to explode.

An automated voice spoke in the dead of the darkness. A female robotic voice said the words Sub Zero never wanted to hear.

"Entering self-destruct mode. Self-destruct in ten, nine, eight, seven..."

And the countdown began. Sub Zero shivered and crawled to Smoke, curling into his arms and said,"Tomas...how did we end up like this?"

How did we end up like this...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Had it been a mistake, none the less a miracle. Everything started when he glared into those bright blue eyes.

It was initiation at the Lin Kuei headquarters in the far corners of China. Everyone, from different parts of the world, stood in one large room, bowing to the Grandmaster, who stood atop a large set of stairs. Beside him, were two unnamed bodyguards, staring down at the new recruits.

He was, to say the least, intimidated.

The Grandmaster certainly looked old. He was frail-looking, with stringy grey hair, and a long grey beard. He hunched back, and wore a loose fitting red robe, far too loose, hanging off his body. He looked feeble enough to kill in one blow, but he knew better than that.

The Czech boy looked around with curious bluish grey eyes. Everyone was talking, speaking a plethora of different languages to their brethren, when the Grandmaster shut them all up. He raised his arms, and began talking, shouting, his voice echoing through the room.

He tried to pay attention, but something was distracting him. Something very unpleasant.

A man stood beside him, dressed in blue robes, with medium length black hair, and the brightest blue eyes ever. He was fit, well built, with a large scar over his right eye. If he was an assassin, he certainly looked the part.

The white haired boy tried to listen to the Grandmaster. He spoke in English, as it was a universal language, but he himself didn't have a good grasp of the language. Born into a heavily nationalistic family, he only knew Czech, and what little English he learned, he learned in school.

Until the unnamed tragedy happened. He didn't remember it, he only knew something bad had happened to him.

After all, that was his purpose here. Somehow, he wound up in the arms of this Lin Kuei, not knowing how he got there, or what to do. But the assuring smiles of his comrades made things a bit more at ease. Though he still had no idea of his past, he thought by being with this team, he could find out about it.

That is, if it was a past worth remembering.

He felt his nerves unraveling when he tuned out the Grandmaster, and looked to his side. The man with the blue eyes shifted those eyes away, but not before the Czech caught him. He was staring at him, and he was angry.

"Is there a problem?" he asked in his heavily Czech accent.

The blue eyed boy looked back and said,"Problem? Oh no...not at all...but I think I might have just found the most beautiful woman in the world..."

The Czech was taken aback. Did he just call him a woman?

"A woman?" he snapped, with a terrifying growl.

The man's blue eyes trailed down his body. Sure, he was a tiny bit curvy, and had an ass to die for, but for the love of god, he was a man?

"...You're a man?" he yelled.

The Czech blew his smoky white hair of out his eyes and said,"Of course I am, you idiot!" "Uh...oh man, this is embarrassing.." the other man said, scratching his head,"with a face like that, and an ass like that, it's not hard to wonder.."

That did it.

He fumed, clenching his fists, and went on a Czech, profanity-laced tirade that managed to catch the attention of everyone in the room, including the Grandmaster, and his two bodyguards.

"Alright, alright! Calm down! I'm sorry!" the man in blue said. But that wasn't enough, the Czech still screamed, his face turning red, when the Grandmaster suddenly grabbed his thin shoulder, and turned him around.

The man in blue shut his mouth, and watched on, as did everyone else. The Czech, on the other hand, wore a deer in headlights look. The Grandmaster, however, smiled, and even chuckled a bit.

"I see you've met Kuai." he said, with a heavy Chinese accent. Immediately, the Czech bowed, before the Grandmaster placed his hand under his chin, and pulled him up to look at him. "You're the new kid from the Czech Republic, right?" he asked.

"Czech? I could have sworn you were Polish." the man in blue said.

"POLISH?" the Czech yelled. Had he not been held back by the Grandmaster, he would have pummeled this "Kuai" to the ground. "Your name?" the old man asked. The Czech gulped and said,"I..I am Tomas Vrbada."

"Very well then...Tomas. I am in the middle of a speech. If you do not mind, I would like to finish it. One more slip up from that mouth of yours, and it'll be your head. Do you understand?" the Grandmaster snapped, looking into Tomas' eyes with fury.

"Y-Yes sir." Tomas replied. The Grandmaster smiled and said,"Good. Actually, on second thought, come with me." "You're in trouble now!" the man in blue said, with a laugh. Angrily, Tomas stepped on his foot with his steel-toe boots, causing the man to scream, and hold his foot in pain.

The Grandmaster didn't like being interrupted. Especially not from a new kid. He was going to make an example out of Tomas, and show him how to be respectful.

Tomas, on the other hand, didn't have a good feeling about this. He held the Grandmaster's hand tightly as they weaved through the crowd. Apparently, the man in blue wasn't the only one who thought he was a woman. Cat-calls and whistles were shouted his way, one man even attempted to grab his ass, before he could claw back in retaliation.

His nerves unraveling, his knees shaking, he took to the steps with the Grandmaster, standing beside him, nervous as all hell.

The man in blue ran forward, dashing through the crowd, and towards the staircase, keeping his eyes on Tomas, in fear of something happening. In any event, strangely enough, he would rescue him.

Tomas stood beside the Grandmaster, who strangely, had his arm around his slender waist. He was speaking, and making gestures at him, which he still didn't understand. Suddenly, his face changed, and he grabbed Tomas's long hair, pulling it, and punched him in the face, screaming,"I will not be made a fool of! When I make a speech, I expect you children to listen!"

Before Tomas could reply, he threw him from the stairs. He thought he would die, the force of the throw, he could move mountains if he wanted to. He flew through the air, and to save him, his defense mechanism came into play, turning his whole body into smoke.

The Grandmaster smirked and said,"That's it. That's what I was going for. I wanted to see if the rumors were true, that this boy could turn into, and manipulate smoke."

Everyone was amazed.

When Tomas landed on the carpet below, everyone clapped, causing him to blush.

"Impressive." a man said. He kind of looked like the blue-eyed man, only older looking. Both men had this distincive Chinese-American look, and both were incredibly handsome. Though he would never admit it. Tomas didn't even know the other one, and he already pissed him off enough.

He held out his hand and said,"The name is Bi-Han." Tomas's hand shook, but he accepted, and said,"And I am-" "Yes, I know. Tomas." Bi-Han said, looking down at him. Tomas blushed at the sincere look on his face, and said,"Well...n-nice to meet you." He tried to walk away, but Bi-Han took his hand and said,"Stay with me, I'll keep you safe."

But Tomas was untrusting. He pushed Bi-Han away and said,"I appreciate it. But I prefer to be alone." Bi-Han looked at him and said,"Alright. But if you need anything-"

"I said I'll be fine." Tomas said, waving his hand dismissively.

When initiation was over, Tomas had received his Lin Kuei badge medallion. In addition, he also received a new code name, aptly named "Smoke" to go along with his talents. No surprise there, of course, he thought to himself.

He walked through the halls of the school they now occupied, and found himself gravitating towards the eatery. By now, he was starving. Living alone, he managed to put himself on a good diet, cooking for himself, but now, things were different. And he at least hoped the food here was healthy.

Walking into the eatery, he bumped into Bi-Han, who smiled and waved. "Hello." Bi-Han said. "Hi." Tomas said, shyly. "Ah...there's this guy.." another man said, walking to Bi-Han. Tomas's heart bounced when he saw the man with the blue eyes wrap his arm around Bi-Han's shoulders.

"Ah. It's the pretty boy. Nice to meet you again." he said, causing Tomas to growl. Bi-Han looked at the tension and said,"So, Tomas, I see you've met my brother, Kuai."

"Brother?" he said, looking at both men. Of course, now it made complete sense! Both men looked a whole lot alike, and kind of acted alike, too. "Kuai, this is Tomas Vrbada. Tomas Vrbada, Kuai Liang." Bi-Han said. Tomas said nothing, but blushed at Kuai's blue eyes gazing down at him again.

"Actually...I have a different name, it's actually Tundra, my code name, but I think I'll let you call me Kuai." Kuai said with a wink, causing Tomas to further blush. "What code name did they give you?" he asked. "What else? Smoke." Tomas said, and Bi-Han and Kuai laughed.

"Really? Smoke? Couldn't that old bag come up with anything more original?" Kuai asked. "You should really be more respectful of the Grandmaster." Tomas pointed out. Kuai shook his head and said,"If you've been here for as long as I've been, you'll understand."

Bi-Han coughed and said,"If you two will excuse me for a second."

Both men raised their eyebrows and watched on as Bi-Han approached a woman with pale skin, and blond spiked hair. "Who's that?" Tomas asked. Kuai rolled his eyes and said,"No one knows her real name. Everyone just calls her Frost. She's such a bitch. And my brother keeps trying to talk to her."

They cringed, when Frost swung at Bi-Han, yelling angrily at him.

"Same shit, different day." Kuai said, walking away. Tomas followed, and the two walked towards the food tables. When they got their food, they sat at a table and began to eat in silence. The silence made Tomas nervous, and he began tapping his foot. Kuai noticed, and asked,"Everything alright? You seem kind of tense."

Tomas said nothing, and tuned out.

"Hey." Kuai said,"I'm sorry about earlier today. Sorry about mistaking you for a girl, and sorry for mistaking you for being Polish." Tomas looked at him and said,"An honest mistake, I hope. Because I don't think anyone is that dumb to actually think I look like a girl."

"To be fair. You do look like one. And there's an air of femininity about you." Kuai said. "What?" Tomas screeched. He turned as red as a lobster, and angrily slapped Kuai, stomping out of the room yelling,"I AM NOT A WOMAN!"

"But you sure look...and act like one. Jeez, who slaps like that anymore!" Kuai said, rubbing his now red, throbbing cheek. "What a bitch." he added, leaving the room. Bi-Han caught up to him, and asked,"Goddamn, what happened to you?"

"That princess, Tomas, slapped me." Kuai replied. "Slapped you? What the hell? He's a guy..." Bi-Han said. "I said that he looked like a woman. So he took offense to that. I don't care, he's a brat anyway. Luckily, I won't be seeing him ever again." Kuai said.

"I mean, there's thousands of people here. What are the odds of us running into each other again?" he added.

Of course, the poor boy ate his words, when while walking through the halls of the school, he walked past the doors to a training room, and looked through the tiny window. To his surprise, Tomas was there, training.

He noticed Tomas wasn't wearing much, shirtless, and wearing a pair of black karate pants, his long wavy hair sticking to his hot, sweaty body. He was red, and he was panting, tired from his long workout.

The door opened, and Kuai walked into the room, surprised at how hot it was. "Goddamn it's hot.." he said to himself. A Cryomancer, he wasn't used to the heat. Tomas wiped the sweat from his head, and threw his long hair into a high, girlish ponytail, gasping when he noticed Kuai in the room with him.

"What do you want?" he snapped,"here to stalk me? Or was I not clear about my gender?"

Kind of hard to argue, when Tomas was burning red, with his hair in a cheerleader style. If not for that manly chest of his, smooth muscles, and washboard abs. A few specs of hair on his chest, and a trail from below his belly to his waist. Shirtless, he looked all man.

"I think it's clear you aren't a woman." Kuai said,"once again, I apologize." "Hmph." Tomas said, crossing his arms. "Either you're here to gawk at me, or you're here to spar." he spat. Kuai looked at him with disgust, he sure as hell was a nasty one.

But maybe...he could have some fun with the kid. Bi-Han was asleep, and the Grandmaster no where to be found. Tomas got into a fighting position, as did Kuai, and began to spar.

As they fought, however, they noticed two figures staring, and watching the fluid, choreographic movements the two fighters made. They watched them with dark eyes, and a scheming heart.

"Well...Grandmaster certainly will have his hands full with these two.."


	3. Chapter 3

Made a small mistake here, and all through the story. Kuai shouldn't be called Sub Zero anywhere this early, so from here on, he's Tundra, as he should be. Sorry for the mixup.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

After a few moments of sparing, Smoke found himself on the losing end. Tundra was above him, holding his body on his back, curling Smoke's leg and pinning him down into submission.

But Smoke wasn't about to give up, no matter how uncomfortable the pain was.

"Tap out! Tap out, you pansy!" Tundra yelled, but to his surprise, Smoke dissolved into smoke clouds, and flew away. He landed, and reformed at the other side of the room, holding his leg in discomfort.

"Jerk." he snapped, crossing his arms.

"Wuss." Tundra replied.

"Asshole."

"Fa-no I should be more tolerant..." Tundra said, quietly to himself. Still, it managed to get Smoke's attention, and he said,"Is there a problem with my sexuality. Go ahead, call me a faggot, like you're the only one who's ever made fun of me."

"Whoa, what a surprise, you really are gay." Tundra said. Smoke bit his lip and said,"Don't tell anyone...everyone's going to be disgusted and hate me." "Like we all couldn't hate you enough. You're a nasty little bitch, you know, like a woman." Tundra said.

Angrily, Smoke clenched his fists and shouted,"I am a man, goddamn it! Why can't you see that? Do I have to show you my dick for you to shut up about it!" Tundra held up his hands and said,"No, no, it's fine...I'm just saying you ACT so much like one. Getting so defensive, putting up this stupid front...but if you wish to be left alone, then fine. I don't need you. I don't need to deal with drama queens like you."

"Drama queen, huh? It's because I'm gay, I have to be a drama queen, right?" Smoke challenged, holding his hands on his hips. Tundra groaned and rolled his eyes, he didn't have time for this.

Yet, he couldn't keep away from this man.

This annoying man.

Still, Tundra thought, he was rather attractive. He shook his head, "I'm straight, goddamn it, I shouldn't be having these thoughts..." But Smoke looked so much like a woman, and he hasn't been with one in years.

"You got a staring problem now?" Smoke shouted. He stomped his foot and groaned, rolling his eyes, as he began to walk away. "Not so fast, princess." Tundra said.

"Princess?" Smoke roared angrily. He threw his shirt and his towel to the floor, and charged at Tundra angrily, leaping at him, and tackling him into the rock-hard wall behind him. His head bounced off the wall, and opened his skin above his scarred eye, and he groaned,"You fucking cunt!", bringing his hand to his new wound.

Smoke growled and kneed Tundra in the groin, punching his open wound again, screaming,"You disgusting pig! I hate you! And I never want to see you again!"

Tundra groaned and fell to the floor, holding his now burning and throbbing crotch, trying to yell back at the angry man, but with the wind kicked out of him, he couldn't.

Angrily, Smoke stomped out of the room, but not before seeing two men, one Asian with long black hair, and another, a black man with dread-locked hair in a ponytail, looking at him. "What the fuck are you two staring at?" he yelled. The Asian laughed and said,"What a princess..."

This time, he chose to ignore, and walked away, but not before throwing a smoke bomb, sending the Asian through the door, and in a pile of broken, shattered glass.

He began walking down the halls, when an old, scratchy voice yelled,"Vrbada!" Without question, Smoke turned around, and saw the glare in the Grandmaster's shining white eyes. "What is the meaning of this? First I find Kuai Liang in a bloodied heap, then I find Sektor, my own son laying in a pile of broken glass?" he yelled.

"I.I.." Smoke stammered, until Tundra walked up to them, limping and said,"It was my fault, my lord. I was fighting Sektor. We beat each other up pretty bad...and I guess I went a bit too far with my strength."

"Then what part does Smoke have to do with this?" Grandmaster asked. "He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Tundra said. "Hmph...well, next time, try not to beat each other up, you're all brothers here." Grandmaster said, walking to his fallen son.

When they were alone, Smoke glanced at Tundra and said,"Thank you.." "Don't mention it. Just promise you'll never kick me again with those Nazi boots." Tundra said with a chuckle. "So because I'm Czech, I have to be a Nazi?" Smoke growled.

Here we go again...

"No! I'm not saying that, I'm just saying...oh never mind. Just run off to your bedroom, I'll go talk to the Grandmaster." Tundra said, shooing the still sweaty Smoke away. As he ran off, Tundra shook his head at himself. Did he really just vouch for the bitch?

"What is wrong with me all of a sudden?" he asked himself, holding his hair in his hand. He made more glances at the fleeing Smoke, and to his surprise, he caught the white haired man looking back. "Little bitch." he said to himself, walking away.

He walked back to the Grandmaster, who was pulling Sektor from the glass, and said,"Oh yeah...sorry about that. Sometimes I don't realize my own strength." He scratched the back of his head with embarrassment and held out his hand to help Sektor up.

Pulling Sektor up to him, he growled in his ear,"I bailed that princess out of this, you tell the Grandmaster it was really him, and I'll have you for dinner, you got that."

Sektor gulped and said,"Y-Yes, Kuai..."

Though he wasn't as powerful as Sektor, or the Grandmaster, Kuai Liang still had lots of power within the Lin Kuei, being a fourth generation, following his grandfather, his father, and his older brother into the clan. He was held in high regard, in both skills, having a dozen kills under his belt, and in knowledge, tutoring and mentoring some of the younger and newer recruits.

Which gave the Grandmaster a terrific idea.

Finished his shower, Smoke went back into this room, his wet towel hanging loosely off his slender waist. The walk back to the room, however, was dangerous, with all the men in the clan whistling and cat-calling again, making him angry. Of course he had his headphones on, but it was still hard to ignore the pigs.

He was smart, and he should have known better, but he couldn't help it. The OCD boy had to get clean somehow.

Closing and locking the door, Smoke placed his listening device on the bed, and went to his mirror. He untied the towel, dropping it to the floor, and examined his naked body. Sure, he had curves where they shouldn't be, and he had a gorgeous, womanly ass, but the rest of him was all man.

As he was ogling himself in the mirror, Tundra quietly opened the door, eyes growing wide at the sight of the naked Smoke. His eyes grew wide in surprise, with an embarrassed crimson on his cheeks.

He didn't want to admit it, but Smoke was gorgeous. And as much as he wanted to, he couldn't keep his blue eyes away, his eyes trailing down his body, taking in every muscle, every curve of that body.

Tundra knew he shouldn't have been looking, but he was so beautiful, he couldn't stop. And Smoke had no idea he was there...

Until...

Smoke's eyes grew wide when he saw Tundra's reflection in the mirror. He jumped and screeched at the top of his lungs, screaming so loud, it almost caught the attention of everyone in the school.

His screech did manage to get the attention of the Grandmaster, who was already on his way to visit Smoke.

His eyebrow raised at the situation before him; Smoke holding a towel over his naked body, red in the face, and Tundra merely looking on in confusion.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked. "I was relaxing here to myself when this...this...pervert walked into my room!" Smoke yelled. The Grandmaster merely smiled and laughed to himself.

"This is also Kuai's room." he said. "No, this is my room." Smoke said,"MY ROOM!" "Um..." Tundra said, scratching the back of his head,"the Grandmaster decided I should mentor you, and made us roommates."

And with that, the Grandmaster left, still with that wide smile on his face. He wondered if his plan to get these two to get along would work. If not, well, he could always have other plans made for Smoke.

"NO NO NO NO NO! NOOOOO!" Smoke yelled, jumping on the bed,"this is my room! And I hate you! I want you nowhere near me!" "We aren't going to make any progress if you keep acting like a spoiled brat!" Tundra yelled. "Progress? What does the Grandmaster expect of us?" Smoke asked.

"He thinks you're a brat. And that you need a serious attitude adjustment, I think so, too. So he had me follow you, and mentor you for a while, at least until you grow up." Tundra replied. "Hmph." Smoke said, crossing his arms.

"Come on..." Tundra said,"and get down from there, you're making a mess of our bed." "OUR bed?" Smoke asked. He was angry, but Tundra had to smirk at the tinted blush on his cheeks. "This is my bed. You sleep on the floor." Smoke snapped.

"Good god, you're such a woman..." Tundra said.

"Fine. I'm tired. Tuck me in." Smoke demanded.

"Do it yourself, you lazy bitch." Tundra snapped.

"Pervert." Smoke snapped.

"You're still naked, idiot." Tundra replied, to which Smoke yelped and hid in the closet, looking for his pajamas.

As Smoke changed, once again, Tundra couldn't help but take a tiny peek. Aesthetically, he was gorgeous. But the person inside was as ugly as sin. He only hoped he could one day change.

When Smoke exited the closet, he tucked himself into bed, and turned his back on Tundra. "Hate me all you want, I don't care. You think I want to be your mentor? You're a brat, and I hope someone knocks some sense into you someday. But I have to obey the Grandmaster..hell...I've been his slave for god knows how long...and he asked me to watch over you.." Tundra said, watching as Smoke made a pillow fort behind him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Fine. You can sleep in the bed with me. But I have this fort here for a reason.." Smoke said, yawning. "Do you really think I would put my hands on you? If you haven't noticed, I'm straight." Tundra said, getting into the bed. He looked at Smoke's black silky pajamas as the Czech snapped,"But that didn't stop you from raping me with your eyes!"

"Stupid woman." Tundra said, turning his back on the fuming Czech.

"Jerk." Smoke said.

An hour had passed, and to Smoke's dismay, the man sharing the bed with him was snoring. And he was snoring LOUD. Smoke looked over the pillow fort with puffy red eyes, and groaned, seeing Tundra on his stomach, snoring into oblivion.

So loud that the bed shook.

"Wake up, you annoying ogre!" he yelled, hitting Tundra with a pillow. But the Chinese man didn't budge. "You!" Smoke yelled, hitting him. "Annoying!" Hit. "Bastard!"

Yell, hit, repeat, and finally, Tundra woke up. His eyes opened, and he sat up, seeing the pillow coming at him. He tried to stop it, but once again, he was pummeled to the bed by an angry Smoke. "Hey! Stop it!" he yelled.

So much for a woman, this man had some strength!

Tundra reached out and grabbed Smoke's wrists, gripping them, while the Czech screamed,"Get your hands off me, you dirty rapist!" "I am not raping you, you moron! I'm trying to get you to stop hitting me!" Tundra yelled.

With Smoke's screaming, he tried to squirm out of Tundra's hold, and only managed to bring himself closer and closer to the edge of the bed. Tundra took notice, and before he could speak, it was too late.

Both men screamed as Smoke rolled off the bed, bringing Tundra down with him, much to Smoke's dismay. For when he looked up, he noticed Tundra right on top of him, his body pressed against his.

His lilac eyes widened, his heart stopped, blushing at the closeness between them. Tundra was so close to Smoke that his nose rubbed on his, his warm breath hovering over his face, his manly muscles on top of his.

Much to his worry, he couldn't find himself to want to leave this position. Something about this man being on top of him was so warm, so comforting, he just stayed laying on the floor.

"Tomas...you're...you're not pushing me away." Tundra said,"even though I don't want to be here."

But Tundra himself couldn't find the power to leave the position either. He liked it. He liked the domination of being on top of the princess. He liked the feel of his slender frame underneath him, and he liked the warmth.

"Oh shut up, who gave you the right to call me Tomas? The name is Smoke!" he snapped. "No. From now on, I'm calling you _Princezna*_." Tundra said. Smoke's eyes grew wide again, and he yelled,"You asshole! I am not your fu-"

He was shut up, when Tundra slammed his hand over his mouth. Smoke bit down on the hand, and squirmed underneath him, unknowingly thrusting his hips upward, slamming his groin against Tundra's.

A chill ran through Tundra's body when he felt Smoke rubbing against his crotch, and suddenly, it stirred, causing Smoke to gasp, and glare into Tundra's eyes.

The two were still laying on the floor, Smoke with his legs spread underneath Tundra, his wrists pinned to the floor, Tundra's hips pressing against Smoke's, keeping him pinned to the carpet. Smoke breathed, exhaling deeply, his heart beating wildly, as Tundra looked down at him.

"Now...if you promise to be good, I'll let go." he said.

In reality, Smoke didn't want Tundra to let go. Though he hated being pinned like a helpless animal, he couldn't deny the warmth he received with the man's body against his own.

"Alright..." he breathed, and Tundra let go, crawling off the disappointed Smoke. So disappointed, that he subconsciously mewed like a baby kitten in despair. The sound was so cute, Tundra had to do a double take. "Was that you?" he asked. "Hmm?" Smoke asked. Tundra grabbed Smoke's wrist and pulled him back onto the bed, pulling so hard, he accidentally landed on his chest.

But neither man was in the mood for arguing. Smoke flopped on Tundra's rock hard chest and sighed, laying there until he fell asleep.

"Urgh..you little...oh alright, fine. Not like you weigh much anyway...stupid brat..." he said, watching as a little of Smoke's white hair flew upward with each sleeping breath he took. Tundra wrapped his arm around Smoke's slender waist and chuckled,"Goodnight, _princezna_.."

Which only resulted in a knee to the groin. Subconsciously, of course.

Smoke turned over in his sleep, curling closer into Tundra's hold, laying his head in the tiny nook of the Chinese man's shoulder, snuggling into it, purring like a kitten. It was so cute, Tundra swore to remember this moment forever.

Even if he hated the bratty bastard.

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><p>For those keeping score, Princezna is Czech for Princess.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

By morning, Smoke was gone. Tundra breathed a sigh of relief. The night was long, and it was restless for the young Czech. Where Tundra was a heavy sleeper, Smoke wasn't as lucky, reeling from past trauma that he couldn't pinpoint.

He screamed into the night, twisted and turned in the bed so much that he rolled off the side of the bed, and to the floor, still sweating, and kicking, digging his nails into his own pale flesh.

Needless to say, Tundra was worried. Very worried. Smoke hadn't had shown this side before, and he was afraid something would happen to him.

Now he was gone, and Tundra raced out of his bed, hurried to put his clothes on, in a race to possibly save him.

He ran through the halls of the Lin Kuei school, looking through every room in the dojo, when he ran into Bi-Han. "Kuai." he called, and the younger brother stopped dead in his tracks. He turned, and glared his deep blue eyes into his brother's.

"What do you think you're doing, running around like this?" Bi-Han asked. "Looking for Smoke. He freaked out overnight, and now he's gone." Kuai replied. Bi-Han smirked and said,"He's out on the beach outside. I escorted him there earlier, he's just fine."

Bi-Han mumbled something else with a slight chuckle and walked away, leaving Tundra to begin walking outside, and to the outside shores. He was relived. At least Smoke was safe. Still, he was a bit perturbed about Bi-Han taking care of Smoke. Did he prefer the other brother? Not that it mattered. It's not like they were friends or anything.

Right?

His friend. Please. Tundra didn't even like the guy.

Then why did he feel so inexplicably close to him? Why did he feel the need to protect him? He liked the way he felt last night. Before the sleepless rampage, Smoke was sleeping like a baby on top of him. His head perfectly aligned with the comforting crook of his neck, his soft palm trailing up and down Tundra's chest and abdomen with every sleeping breath he took.

His flowing silver hair dancing in the wind, and he was snuggly, too. Smoke had a penchant for cuddling in his sleep, something Tundra also secretly adored.

The more he thought about it, the more he began to like Smoke. He wasn't fooling anyone. No matter how nasty Smoke was, at the end of the night, he was just a baby kitten looking for a home. One that he had found in Tundra's arms.

When he exited the Lin Kuei dojo, he felt a summer breeze fly past him. It should have been scorching hot, but it wasn't. With the shore around him, the beachy breeze flew around, the scent of salt water flooding his nostrils, entering his senses.

He removed his shoes and walked to the shore line, the only sound he heard were the waves crashing, and sea gulls squeaking around him. The sky was a purplish blue, not a cloud in the sky, the sun's rays radiating on him. The sand was annoying, and going into his toe nails, but that didn't deter him from his goal, sitting right by the waves, in what looked like a meditating pose.

Tundra wouldn't dare interrupt him. He knew the importance of meditation, a practice he was often preached to by his late father. He stood by Smoke's side, the waves crashing onto his sitting body, as he had his eyes closed, and meditated.

"I see you, Kuai."

Tundra jumped at not only the thought of being seen, but with Smoke calling him by his name.

Even more odd, there was no sense of hostility.

"Just because I have my eyes closed doesn't mean I don't know you're here. I can sense you from a mile away."

That deep, smoky voice. It aroused Tundra's senses, but he quickly returned to reality and said,"I apologize if I was interrupting anything. I was just wondering where you had gone so early."

After all, it was seven in the morning.

Smoke smiled and opened his eyes. "If you can call this early. I've been out here since five AM. But no, you were not interrupting anything. I should be the one apologizing for my actions overnight. I'm not sure of what happened, but I seem to recall screaming alot."

He looked at the claw marks down his muscular arms and said,"Did we fight last night?"

Tundra could only watch on in disbelief. Was he actually having a conversation and not an argument with this man? Meditation really does do wonders.

"No." he replied,"you freaked out and clawed yourself with those nails."

"Heh. That's funny...I don't seem to recall ever hurting myself. But the tell tale marks are there." he said. Tundra looked at him, and couldn't get away from those lilac eyes, even now more prevalent in the sun.

He looked back at the crashing waves and said,"This is my favorite place. A quiet and serene area, with only the waves serving as sound. I'm alone with myself, alone with my thoughts like I've always been in my whole life."

Looking back at Tundra he said,"And now I have you to share it with me."

Tundra looked into his eyes as he added once more,"I..I've been quite the jerk, haven't I?" The Chinese man declined to reply, because he didn't want this mood to change. He didn't want the calmness to end.

"Be honest with me." Smoke said, locking his lilac eyes on Tundra's sapphire ones.

"...Yes." Tundra replied. Smoke sighed and turned his head. "I apologize...it's just...I've been alone my whole life, I don't even know how to react when someone wants to be my friend...I was so scared, like a cornered kitten, I...I lashed out, I didn't mean to."

Tundra was shocked by his admittance. Either the weather got to him, or he was truly sincere. When he looked up into Smoke's eyes, they wore a mask of pain, a mask of sorrow, and regret.

His ice cold sapphire eyes looked into Smoke's sad lilac eyes and he said,"Well...you have a friend in me...if you're willing to have me."

Smoke smiled through his pain and he said,"I am. It does a person no good if they're alone without someone to watch over them. Someone to share laughs with, to share joy and pain with. Besides, if I listened to any more of myself, I'd go insane. Not like I'm not crazy anyway.."

"Still think I'm a whiny little princess?" he added.

"You'll always be my princess." Tundra said. "Fine, give me a dress and tiara, maybe I'll play dress up for you someday." Smoke said, blushing when he realized the innuendo within his own words. Tundra laughed, Smoke was so cute when his cheeks were fluffy and pink.

"Also, I think we should be honest with each other. I mean I did sleep with you last night, so I...oh my god!" Smoke said, when he blushed hardcore again, his entire face turning red, and he yelled,"...I didn't mean it like that! I mean-"

"I know what you mean." Tundra said with a laugh. Smoke joined the laughter, and Tundra stopped, listening to the gentle chimes of his friend's laughter.

He sighed, Smoke was absolutely perfect.

Well...one tiny, yet significant problem.

Smoke wasn't a woman. But Tundra found that he was quickly liking this man, perhaps...perhaps his sex didn't matter anymore.

"We should go in for some training." Tundra said.

As much as he didn't want to break the mood, he knew that if they were late to practice, there would be big trouble. Deep in his thoughts, until Smoke broke the silence with,"Hmm...and you don't want to spend more time with me? I thought we were pals."

"I wouldn't want you to get in trouble." Tundra said. "I'll find a way out of it...besides, the weather is nice. I don't want to go inside." Smoke said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

He spun around to Tundra with his kitten eyes, and pounced at Tundra, tackling him to the soft beachy sand below. "Tomas, you crazy bastard!" he yelled, when he hit the sand. Smoke laughed and said,"Oh come on, you can handle it!"

The two wrestled for what seemed like an eternity, until Bi-Han ran out to the beach and ran to them, stopping their little game.

"Kuai, what are you doing? You two should have been at practice minutes ago! The Grandmaster is waiting!" he yelled. "Bi-Han...don't blame him." Smoke said, shaking the sand out of his hair. "I tackled him, I kept him here longer than we should have."

Bi-Han laughed and said,"Well...hey," he changed his tone,"...don't take the blame for Kuai. He's-"

"My friend." Smoke challenged,"and it was my fault of this. If the Grandmaster must yell at me, then so be it." "Hmm...you're a trying man." Bi-Han said, shaking his head and walking away. Tundra looked at Smoke, and Smoke replied,"I thought I could be friends with him, too, but something about him rubs me the wrong way."

"You're safe with me." Tundra said.

"He made that promise to me as well. But I trust your words more." Smoke said. "And what makes me more trust-worthy?" Tundra asked. Smoke looked into his eyes and said,"Ninjas really should cover their eyes instead of their mouths...everything can be seen within those two orbs."

"Are you saying I have trustful eyes?" Tundra asked. "When you look into someone's eyes, you see the truth in that very soul. I don't remember much from my childhood, but that was a lesson someone told me." Smoke said,"and I see it in you."

He blushed again, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear with a shy giggle.

"Let's go before we're anymore late." Tundra said, walking away, and Smoke obediently followed. But as they walked, Tundra stopped, and turned to the silver haired man behind him. In confusion, Smoke tilted his head.

"Hey, I have an idea. Rip the cuff of your right leg." he said. Smoke didn't follow. "My what?" he asked. Tundra quickly took out a knife, and said,"Give me your leg." He fell to his knees, and Smoke held his breath in shock, when he placed his foot on Tundra's thigh.

Apprehensive as he was, Tundra took the time to steady Smoke's leg by placing his hand behind it, grabbing his calf, when he began to admire the slenderness of it. His blue eyes went past every curve, every muscle, and left his body growing warm. Smoke's body chilled, then grew warm with Tundra's soft feather-like touches against his black pant leg.

Though his flesh was behind the fabric, he could still feel the heat radiating, causing goosebumps to grow, causing a shivering warm against him.

Tundra's hand shook as he held his knife over the cuff of Smoke's pant leg. One, he was afraid to mess up, knowing how temperamental the Czech was, and two, he felt a strange arousal that he knows he shouldn't have felt before.

"Hurry it up." Smoke breathed, blushing at the sight of Tundra on his knees, and Smoke standing above him. Anyone else would have taken his position for something else, which made Smoke's blush grow even deeper.

"You're shaking, I can't." Tundra said. Above him, Smoke's body was trembling. He didn't know why. It wasn't cold by the shore, he wasn't tired, he had plenty to eat, but he couldn't understand why he was quivering simply by being with this man.

Suddenly, as Tundra began to cut, Smoke fell. His knees buckling below him, he fell from Tundra's lap, and went straight to the sand. "Tomas! Are you ok?" he asked, quickly hovering over him.

He was left with a sense to protect, to comfort his friend, even if nothing damaging happened.

Smoke lay on the sand, on his back, with Tundra on his side, hovering over him, taking a hold of his quivering knees. The young Czech gasped at the touch and said,"I...I'm alright..."

"Quickly.." he added, sending Tundra's heart aflame,"do what you were doing."

Little did Smoke know how he had just walked into an innuendo. Tundra's perverted little mind just imagined Smoke in a maid dress bending over, and he quickly dismissed the idea, when Smoke placed his leg at him, bringing the knife back to the cuff of his pants.

"Th-the plan is to cut here...so we can tell a little lie about how you missed practice. You got caught in a riptide, you-"

But his words were drowned out when they heard a bell sound, indicating that practice was over. "Kuai..." Smoke breathed, looking into his eyes. It was enough to send Tundra's senses into overdrive, and he messed up, slashing a hole in Smoke's pants.

He screamed, jumping at the rip and yelled,"What the hell? You ruined my pants!" "Don't say my name like that, Tomas!" Tundra yelled. Smoke looked into his eyes and said,"Well...how did I say it?" "You sounded like a prostitute almost...like a woman crying my name in bed."

Smoke's entire face turned red. His eyes grew wide and he mewed in surprise,"I..I didn't mean it like that!" Tundra laughed at his reaction and said,"It's fine. I think we just missed practice, the Grandmaster is going to kill us."

"I'll come up with an excuse. In the meantime, do you mind releasing me? I need to get cleaned up." Smoke said.

He looked up at the sky as Tundra helped him up. Time had significantly passed, now it was afternoon. He looked at the Chinese man with confusion, had he really spent the whole morning beachside with him?

The sky didn't lie, and he could feel the afternoon sun beating down on him. He was in shock. He didn't expect it, and he didn't expect to enjoy it as much as he did.

Tundra grabbed Smoke's arm and pulled him towards him. "I kind of like this smell on you." he said with a smile. Smoke blushed, then said,"Smell? Is it bad?" "No, it's like the beaches that my mother used to take me to back home. California was filled with beaches." Tundra said with a smile again.

"I remind you of your home.." Smoke said. Tundra nodded. "And of a past life you once lived, and that you remember." he added. Again, Tundra nodded, though this time sadly.

He placed his hand on Smoke's slender shoulder and said,"Hey. You'll remember it all someday." "But what if it's a past not worth remembering?" Smoke asked. "If not, then we'll start all over. But just remember, you're not alone. You have me." Tundra said.

Smoke wanted to cry. He wanted to break down and cry. Wanted to run into Tundra's arms and never let go. But he knew he couldn't. He was Lin Kuei, he couldn't appear weak, no matter how weak he truly felt now. Tundra could see the sorrow in his eyes, and refrained from speaking. He didn't know if he could take it, to see his princess break down and cry.

He smiled and said,"Yes...yes, I do."

Together, the two began to walk up the sand, and back to the Lin Kuei dojo, where Bi-Han was stood, crossing his arms at the two. "You missed practice." he stated. Tundra just looked at him and ignored him, causing Bi-Han to grow annoyed. He merely shook his head at the two of them.

They walked back to their room, when Smoke began grabbing his supplies for showering, such as nice fragrance shampoo and body wash. Tundra laughed and said,"What the hell...strawberry and cherry blossom? You're such a woman!" Smoke snatched his shampoo away and said,"I gotta do something with this flowing hair, and I..I like to smell nice."

Tundra looked at his roses and green apple body wash, laughing and said,"Alright, princess, so clean yourself up." Smoke smiled back at him, and went to the showers, while Tundra mused to himself, looking for the Grandmaster.

"How the hell did he get so nice all of a sudden? It doesn't make any sense. He's been such a dick for the longest time...well...I shouldn't ask...I don't want to ruin this." he said, trailing his hand down the colored, decorated walls.

Musing to himself, he thought about Smoke, and muttered to himself that he needed to see the Grandmaster.

"You need to see me?" the Grandmaster said, hearing his plight.

The Grandmaster locked his cold eyes on Tundra and said,"You and Smoke missed the practices." "I know, Sir, and it will never happen again." Tundra said, bowing. "Then would you mind telling me exactly what happened? And why you two missed it? You know practices are important to being a Lin Kuei." Grandmaster said.

He was once again flanked by Cyrax and his son Sektor, and Tundra was a bit intimidated looking into their eyes.

"Smoke was outside meditating, and I went outside to get him back in here. That was, until he ran out into the water as we had a quick sparring match. He fell in, and a riptide took him, I had to go and rescue him, it took so much time that we missed the meeting. I'm sorry." he replied.

Sektor couldn't believe the lie. Tundra just prayed that the Grandmaster would. "You actually believe this, father?" he asked. The old man held his hand up and said,"Well...the weather is right for riptides. I can only hope that Smoke is alright. But make sure it doesn't happen again."

Tundra nodded and bowed, while Sektor argued with his father, walking down the halls.

Tundra shook his head and returned to his room for some stretching, some reading, some R&R, and waited for Smoke to return.

The water was so soothing against Smoke's flesh, and he moaned, feeling it soothe him. It was almost as nice as Tundra's hands. He flinched at the thought, taking his hand away from his neck, staring at it like a foreign object. He had no idea what had gotten into him lately.

Last night said it all, though. In his sleep, he dropped his defenses and let the pillow fort crumble. He allowed Tundra to touch him, allowed Tundra to hold him, hold him like the lifeline he so desperately clawed for.

He protected him, even through his nightmares, and for that, he was thankful.

But now, something felt different with the way he thought about Tundra. All the innocent flirtation, the teasing, was he falling in love with him? It was such a foreign, such a strange feeling, something Smoke wasn't used to. But he felt so drawn to him, like a moth to a flame, and he wanted him.

He was so engrossed in his shower, he didn't notice anyone else enter.

Smoke and steam was all over the room, obscuring his vision. The water so loud, he didn't hear the footsteps.

Until he was thrown against the wall.

A fist met with his stomach, and he lost his breath, clenching himself in pain.

He tried to scream, but a hand slammed over his mouth.

His eyes grew wide in fright, and he kicked his leg out, meeting his assailant. His breath was heavy, his heart beating so fast he feared it would burst out of his chest. With his adrenaline pumping, he grabbed a towel, and ran out of the shower area so fast, he nearly plowed other Lin Kuei down.

When he made it back to his room, he slammed and door and fell to the carpet, knocking everything in the room down with him. Tundra looked up from his book, and gasped, running to Smoke, who collapsed in tears.

"Tomas?" Tundra asked, placing his hand on Smoke's shuddering shoulders. The man trembled, digging his nails to the soft carpet, when Tundra held him in his arms.

"Who hurt you?" he asked.

"I..I didn't see him. It happened so fast." Smoke whispered. Tundra placed his finger under Smoke's chin and made him look into his eyes, examining him for injury. "Where did he touch you?" he asked.

He knew the interrogation was making Smoke uncomfortable, but someone had hurt his friend, and he was furious. Come hell through high water, he would find the person responsible and slaughter them.

Smoke declined to reply anymore, and Tundra left him, giving him room to breathe. He turned and let the Czech dress in private, but kept an eye on him, to make sure that he wouldn't fall again.

"Kuai?" he asked, when he returned to him.

The tone of voice like a pleading kitten, musky and sad, took Tundra out of his thoughts. He looked at the dark of the night outside the bedroom window, and Smoke held out his hand. "Can you..hold me?" he asked.

He knew he shouldn't be begging such a thing. After all, he was a man, and men should be stronger. But Smoke was already fragile to begin with. His mind, his sanity, his very being shattered years ago, he was only know beginning to put everything together.

But even the most tiniest of cracks can threaten to break the whole wall down. Smoke was vulnerable, and he just needed that one glue to hold him together.

Tundra couldn't deny such a request. He looked at the depressed, the pleading eyes of his friend. Tundra was to be his protector, and here Smoke was already hurt. He had already failed him.

What protection could he offer, when he had already let him down?

Still, Smoke didn't want anything else. Tundra sat on the bed, and Smoke crawled up to him, taking his hand, curling to his side like a sad kitten. Tundra ran his fingers through his silky silver hair, looking down as the Czech had gone to sleep.

"Relax. Just relax. I am here for you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

He let him sleep it off. And still Smoke shook, still he tried to fight his inner demons through his sleep. It's been quite some time since he came running into the bed room, soaking wet, stark naked and desperately covering his disheveled self with a ripped towel.

Tundra didn't have to think twice. Someone had tried to hurt Smoke while he was in the shower. The stubborn man, he shouldn't have taken a shower alone. He wasn't as naive as he let on, he was fully aware that the men in the Lin Kuei found him attractive, especially when he resembled a woman so much.

And he could imagine that some of the men here haven't been laid in forever.

Smoke was a gorgeous man, so gorgeous, that he didn't even know it. The poor man. Tundra watched the man sleep. He had since thrown a blanket over him, as he was still naked, and kept watch, when Bi-Han knocked at the door.

Tundra answered the door, and locked eyes with his older brother. At the doorway, Bi-Han looked over his younger brother's shoulder and looked at Smoke sleeping adorably on the bed, clutching his blanket for dear life. "I heard someone attacked him in the showers, is he ok?" he asked.

"He'll be fine." Tundra replied, nodding. He really didn't want company. Regardless of who it was. When he began to close the door, Bi-Han held his hand to it and said,"The Grandmaster wants to see you two later on. Something about a mission of sorts, I'm not sure what it is."

"A mission? But Smoke hasn't been here as long as we have." Tundra said, glancing at the sleeping man. "I have no doubt in your capabilities, brother." Bi-Han said, placing a cold hand on his shoulder,"with you, Tomas will be just fine, I'm sure."

A frigid shiver ran down Tundra's spine. He wasn't afraid, he's gone on many missions before, but never with Smoke. Smoke's never been in a situation like that, he didn't know how he could handle it.

Tundra noticed Smoke was waking up, and he said,"Bi-Han, I gotta go. Tomas and I will see the Grandmaster soon." Bi-Han nodded and took one more glance at Smoke, who was now beginning to rise from his position. His face wore a look of sympathy..and something else he couldn't pinpoint.

When he closed and locked the door, he returned to Smoke. The Czech groaned, opening his eyes, and rising, when he realized the blanket had fallen from his hips, exposing himself. Subconsciously, Tundra looked down, and Tomas yelped, face red in a fiery blush. "Kuai!" he yelled. "Sorry, I.." Tundra said. Smoke quickly put the blanket back on and shuddered.

"Tomas, we gotta get out of here. According to my brother, the Grandmaster wants to see us. I think there's a mission he wants us to go on." he said.

"Oh. Well...what kind of mission?" Tundra shrugged and then said,"Would you be willing to join me? I know you haven't been here for long, but-"

"It's not a problem. That's what I'm here for anyway...at least I think." Smoke said. "This might involve killing someone...something I've always had trouble with.." Tundra said. Smoke jumped up and held his heart, feeling his stomach drop. "K-killing someone? But I'm no murderer.."

"If it's too much to ask, I'll just go with my brother. You'll just have to survive without me for a few days." Tundra said. Smoke quickly shook his head and wrapped his arm around Tundra's, nuzzling that arm. "I don't want to do that." he said. Tundra blushed at the kitty and said,"So you'll join me?" "Yes." Smoke said.

He smiled and said,"I just need to be strong." "You also should get dressed. I don't think the Grandmaster would appreciate it if you came to him naked." Tundra said. Smoke blushed when he said,"You're right." Tundra turned around, giving Smoke his privacy as he began to change, putting on his usual Lin Kuei outfit; a tight black body suit with grey armor on top. He let his grey hair down, and followed the blue clad ninja out the door.

After a while of walking, the two finally made their way into the Grandmaster's chamber, where he was sitting over a desk, writing, with Sektor and Cyrax beside him. "Ah, there you two are." he said. Smoke and Tundra bowed, and the Grandmaster said,"I'm sure Bi-Han told you, I wanted to break Smoke in, as well as give this mission to my best soldier."

"You two will be embarking on a mission to Australia. I want you to keep an eye on the weapons leader of the Black Dragons, Kano. He has alot of important info that I want, and I can only trust you two in getting it." he said.

Smoke and Tundra nodded.

"Just a head's up, though." Cyrax chimed in. Everyone looked at him and said,"Rumors say there's a US agent with a personal vendetta against Kano. You must not allow her to get her hands on Kano, we need him alive."

"Sonya." Tundra said. Smoke raised an eyebrow, and Tundra said,"I knew Sonya...then I ran into her again while on a mission, she was chasing Kano to New York, she said he killed her partner, and she was going to kill him, but he got away." "Hmm...well, if you find this Sonya woman, subdue her, and make sure she does not get in your way." the Grandmaster said.

"Yes sir." Smoke and Tundra said, bowing. They saluted the Grandmaster, when he said,"You two are dismissed. Now go."

Together, the two left the room, when Smoke said,"You know this Sonya woman?" He didn't want to admit that he was a tiny bit jealous. But he knew Tundra was straight, so he probably did have a few girlfriends here and there. "She's an old friend of mine...we dated a long time ago, back when I still lived in California. She was in the academy, and I was in college, it didn't last long, I went to the Lin Kuei, and she went into the military." he replied.

"Hmm..I see. So she won't interfere with us?" Smoke asked. "Us?" Tundra asked, raising his eyebrow. Smoke blushed and said,"I-I mean our mission!" Tundra laughed and said,"I know, I was just teasing, and-hey wait a second, you're not...jealous, are you?"

"Me? Jealous? Of what?" Smoke asked, as innocently as he could. Of course he was jealous. He was quickly falling for Tundra, and didn't want to hear stories of how many women he's had. "Don't play the innocent kitty, come on, I can see it written across your face. You're terrible." Tundra said.

"Oh alright, maybe just a little bit." Smoke admitted. Tundra laughed and said,"Relax, she's old news to me. Besides, I think she's married to some actor now."

As the two walked, they were silent, until Smoke said,"Do you think...if you remained with her, would you two be married?" Tundra looked at him and said,"You're really strung up over this, aren't you? Well..I mean I suppose, probably? But we were really young and ambitious, it would have never worked out."

The two entered their room, and Tundra added,"My parents have been together for almost thirty years before daddy died. That's the kind of love I want, the kind of marriage I want. I know it's hard to come by nowadays, but sometimes I feel that I'm still that old fashioned hopeless romantic you see in the movies. Melted cheese and all."

Just hearing those words made Smoke's heart turn upside down. Despite not having much human interaction, he had always secretly desired a beautiful, old fashioned romance.

And who better to have it with than mister romantic himself, Tundra? The only problem was that Tundra was straight. Smoke didn't know if he could convert him, or if he should even try. The more he hung around with him, the more time he spent with him, the less he cared about his sexual preference. But he wouldn't dare make a move, he didn't want to risk losing the only friend he had here.

"How about your parents?" Tundra asked, taking Smoke out of his thoughts. "Hmm?" Smoke asked. "Your parents. How long have they been together?" Tundra asked. Smoke merely looked at his feet. "I..I'm an orphan." he replied,"or at least I think I am...I don't think I remember having parents.."

"Oh Tomas...dude.." Tundra said. "I..I think I'm alright." Smoke said. The truth was, he wasn't ok. He didn't know anything about his past, he came here to find out, and Tundra's questions weren't exactly helping. The Chinese man was about to ask another question, when he saw a familiar scowl appear on the Czech's face, then he declined.

"Well..whatever it is, I'm sure you'll find out the truth about everything." he said, brightening Smoke's face. "I wonder...do you even know how old you are?" he asked. Smoke shook his head. "I mean I don't feel like a child, but I don't feel old either."

Tundra looked at his face, it was a little older, but still had a tiny bit of childlike inside it, too. Tundra assumed he was at least well into his twenties, if not maybe early thirties at the most. Not too far off his age of thirty.

There was that silence again, when Smoke rose off the bed and said,"We better start packing. How many days are we going to be there?" "The Grandmaster didn't say. I guess as long as it takes to find Kano." Tundra said. "Then it'll be a while. Let's make a vacation out of it." Smoke said with a playful smile.

"Smoke, you know this is serious business." Tundra said. Smoke walked to him and wrapped his arms around his waist,"And you say you are stuck here...if someone gives you an opportunity to enjoy yourself, you're not going to take it?"

Tundra chuckled a bit,"Oh alright, kid. You win." He watched as Smoke placed some sunscreen and other things into his suitcase, and suddenly he began to change, right in front of Tundra's eyes.

"Tomas.." he said. "Then turn around, you dirty perv." Smoke said, throwing a shirt over Tundra's face. He could hear the subtle giggle in the Czech's voice, and Tundra couldn't help but take a tiny peak. But before he could see anything, Smoke was already dressed, changing into a black dress shirt and a pair of jeans.

He totally had the European Pretty Boy look down, Tundra said to himself with a laugh,"Now all you need are the necklaces and the watches, you'll be just fine." "What need of I for a watch? I don't care about time..." Smoke said,"or necklaces, I'm not a woman."

Tundra changed into a similar outfit, a dark blue dress shirt and a pair of jeans, slicking back his neck length black hair. "Besides, I don't think the airport would like it if we showed up in our Lin Kuei outfits." Smoke said, when the two left the room.

"This is so not ninja, you know." he added, looking down at his suitcase. He pulled it, the wheels scrapping against the floor, when Tundra said,"Yeah, well this isn't sixteenth century Japan, we can't just ninja jump to Australia."

Smoke giggled and said,"Of course not. Which is why we fly, and dress and look nice." "And smell nice." Tundra said, raising his eyebrow at Smoke's cologne. "What? I'm European, I gotta look the part, too!" the Czech said. Tundra rolled his eyes and said,"I'm Asian, so I don't get it...whatever. I'm sure you look just fine."

The two began walking out of the Lin Kuei home, and into a taxi cab waiting outside the place for them. The trip had already been paid for, so they drove mostly in silence, the taxi driver trying to make idle talk, but neither man seemed in the mood for talking.

"Are you ok?" Tundra asked. Smoke didn't know how to answer that. Could he lie and say yes? There was alot going on in his head; a possibility of killing someone, and a possibility of Tundra's ex-girlfriend being there, amongst other things.

He didn't know why Sonya made him feel so uncomfortable and annoyed, he didn't even meet the woman, he didn't even know her. And yet, knowing she was once close to the man he had a crush on bothered him to no end.

But he couldn't tell Tundra.

How could he tell him that he admired him? That he liked him? That he...loved him. That he dreamt about him, and wished for them to be together. Smoke blushed and held onto his heart, yes, he heard himself right, he was in love with Kuai Liang.

_"Oh fuck me..."_ Smoke groaned to himself, staring at Tundra's hand, which was dangerously close to his. _"Don't touch me, it'll only make it worse."_ he said to himself, keeping his eye on that hand. A simple turn on the road, and Smoke was thrashed into Tundra's arms.

The Chinese ninja didn't care, and he in fact enjoyed the closeness. The two men looked at each other, Smoke with a flaming blush, Tundra with a caring smile, when Smoke apologized and went back to his seat, fixing his seat belt.

"You look scared. Look at you, you're all pale." Tundra said, touching under Smoke's chin. He made the Czech look at him and said,"Yeah, all pale..you need rest. Come, sleep on my shoulder. I'll wake you when we get to the airport."

Smoke didn't know if he wanted to do that. Secretly, he completely wanted to. And Tundra's inviting smile didn't make matters any easier. Tundra was very comfortable, Smoke found that out a night earlier when he accidentally fell asleep on his chest, he figured his shoulder would be, too.

But then again, Smoke was fighting with himself. Tundra was more than just a friend to him, at this point, an innocent crush he had on the man, but it was one-sided, he said to himself. Tundra is straight, there is no way he would ever love him back.

And so Smoke decided to keep his budding feelings secret. He didn't know if he could deal with the rejection. And so he chose to stay quiet.

He shook his head and curled to himself in the seat. But that didn't deter Tundra. He reached over and wrapped his arm around Smoke's waist, pulling the confused man to his side. "I don't take no for an answer, Tomas." he said, sending Smoke's heart into flame. "I need my partner well-rested. If my shoulder is to provide that comfort, then you take it."

Smoke sighed, he couldn't complain. He sure as hell couldn't, not when his body was pressed to his love's side. So warm, so content, he smiled and curled into Tundra's hold, as the blue ninja kept his arm wrapped around him tightly, stroking his grey hair gently.

Within moments, Smoke was asleep. Tundra smiled looking down at the man. From this angle, his heart stopped. Smoke was so beautiful, Tundra couldn't resist. Sure he had been with a few women here and there, but something about Smoke drove him crazy, made his heart beat in ways it never had before.

He felt comfortable, at ease and peaceful with the man, something he hasn't felt in a long time. He pressed his head to Smoke's holding him tightly, when the cab driver said,"We're here."

"Hey." Tundra said, nudging Smoke,"we're here." Smoke blinked and rose up from his slumber. He groaned, he only felt like he had slept for minutes, instead of the hour taxi ride it was. Still, he followed Tundra out, taking his luggage, and walking to customs, where their passports were.

A few minutes, a bag and security check later, the two men were ready to board the plane, ready to go to Australia. For the trip, Tundra had a few good things on his mind, besides his mission. He knew Smoke loved beaches, and Australia was covered with them, he figured the guy might like to go surfing, or at least relax there for a bit.

The two weren't only on a mission, they said, they'd take a vacation, because they said so. Tundra noticed the women couldn't keep their hands off Smoke's soft grey hair, and as the airline stewardess tried to paw at him, Tundra growled and demanded they keep their hands to themselves, if they want to keep their jobs.

"How long to Australia?" Smoke asked, when the plane got into motion. The air conditioner was on full blast, and the stewardesses gave the two a blanket. Since there was no one in the seats behind them, the two put their seats back, and Tundra moved the arm rest, pulling Smoke close to his side. He wrapped his arm around Smoke's waist, Smoke lay on Tundra's chest, arms wrapped around his waist, and sighed into it, breathing in his frosty scent.

"Doesn't matter. Just relax." Tundra said, in a soothing voice. Smoke curled into his hold, and Tundra began to rub his lower back, sending a chill up Smoke's spine, and a smile on his face.

"Heh. Well don't those two just look so precious.."

"Kinda makes me a bit sick, actually. It doesn't leave a nice taste in my throat."

Little did Tundra and Smoke know that they were being closely monitored by Cyrax and Sektor. The Grandmaster had specifically asked the two to keep an eye on them, to make sure they kept on track of the mission.

"You know, I kinda thought something was going on between them." Cyrax said with a laugh. Sektor laughed, too and said,"Well...I'm sure we all know who the bitch is then."

Tundra looked out the window and out into the clouds. He never did have a real good perception of heaven, but being up there, he wanted to reach out to the soft clouds, he wanted to reach into heaven, and see if his father would ever reach back out to him.

It was a silly thing to think, he thought to himself. But he really did miss his father, no matter how much he tried to believe the "Time heals all" proverb, it did nothing but make the pain greater. He never got the chance to protect him. Maybe that's why he doted on Smoke so much, maybe he just needed one more person to protect.

Yeah, that's it, Tundra said, looking down at the sleeping man in his hold,"I just want to protect you, like I couldn't protect my father."

Or was it more than just that?

Of course not. Tundra nearly choked at the idea. He was a straight man, he could never love another man. Even if it was someone like Tomas Vrbada, right? He dismissed those thoughts, then looked back down at the man in his arms.

_He's beautiful._

_Like a damsel in distress._

"Whatever." Tundra said, focusing his gaze back to outside the tiny window.

After a few hours, the plane finally landed in Australia. Smoke had gotten a decent sleep, no nightmares, no romantic dreams about Tundra, no-wait a second..

Romantic dreams about Tundra?

Now Smoke knew he was losing his mind. He had to stop dreaming about him. Tundra would never love him in that kind of way. He was a straight man who loved women, he couldn't possibly love him. The realization that Tundra would never love him stung deep into his heart, but he'd move on.

Because Tundra was a dear friend. And a great partner, or at least he hoped. He hoped he could move on, but the more time he spent with him, the more the feelings grew stronger. And it didn't help that Tundra always had a warm smile every time he saw him, or a comforting embrace.

The two exited the airplane, and suddenly, Smoke came up with a cold shiver. He quickly grabbed the guardrail, and Tundra quickly embraced him, holding him tightly, helping him down the steps, and into the terminal.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. Smoke nodded,"Just a chill...nothing special." "Tomas, it's almost a hundred degrees out here." Tundra said. He groaned, he hated the hot weather. A cyromancer didn't get along well with hot weather, like a Scandinavian to a desert, it just didn't work out.

"Goddamn, it's really hot, I don't like this." Tundra said. The two quickly went to the luggage check and got their bags, and went straight to a taxi, giving the driver the address to the hotel they would be staying at.

As Smoke and Tundra left, Sektor and Cyrax ran down the steps angrily, mad about being randomly selected by the TSA for a cavity search. This, of course made them miss and lose the two other Lin Kuei ninjas.

"Goddamn it, we lost them!" Cyrax said. Sektor smirked and said,"Relax, we'll find them again."

"Kuai...why do I feel like we're being followed?" Smoke asked, looking out the window behind them. He shivered again, despite the hot weather, and Tundra looked out behind him, too. "We aren't the only car on this street, Tomas." Tundra said with a laugh.

Smoke frowned angrily and said,"That isn't what I mean. I mean...oh never mind. I'm sure it's just my mind playing tricks on me." Tundra looked down at him with worry and said,"Yeah...sure."

They arrived at the hotel sooner than they had anticipated, and quickly left the cab to check in. Since Smoke still spoke with a heavy accent, the woman at the desk had a hard time understanding him. It was frustrating to say the least, he had been with the Lin Kuei for quite some time now, and took English speaking lessons everyday.

Tundra intervened and spoke to the woman himself, the woman smiling and pushing her loose hair strands behind her ears, ready to flirt, when the Chinese man quickly took the keys and began to walk. He put his hand on Smoke's arm and was about to walk, when someone called out to him.

"Kuai?"

A female's voice said. Smoke looked behind him, spinning around with anger. "I'm the only one who's allowed to call him that!" he snapped to himself, when he saw the image of a slender, large-breasted blonde woman with fair skin and blue eyes. She sure was pretty, Smoke thought, with seething jealousy.

Her voice was American, and he assumed that this must have been Sonya Blade. He saw a wedding ring on her finger, and breathed a sigh of relief, but it didn't make him feel any better when they hugged.

"What brings you here?" she asked. "I-" Tundra couldn't tell her the real mission. He knew how Sonya felt about Kano, so he lied,"I'm here on vacation with my friend." "Friend, huh?" Sonya asked, looking at Smoke.

"Heh. Where are my manners. Sonya, this is Tomas, Tomas, this is Sonya." Tundra said, pulling Smoke to his side. The two shook hands, and Sonya said to Smoke,"Oh, well aren't you just gorgeous! I bet you get all the girls chasing after you, huh?"

The Czech blushed and hid his face in his hair. "He's a bit shy." Tundra said, laughing as he looked down; Smoke still hadn't let go of Sonya's hand. When he realized it, he quickly released it and said,"It's nice to meet you. But we better go up to the room and unpack."

Sonya noticed his heavy accent and her eyes rose up. "What a precious little accent! Where are you from?" Smoke looked at her and said,"I'm from Prague." She looked at Smoke and then at Tundra, when Smoke sighed annoyingly,"It's in the Czech-"

"I know where it is, I'm just curious about how you two met is all." she said,"after all, I'm an agent with the US military, I SHOULD know where everything is."

Smoke was about to reply with a snarky comment, but declined, opting to grab Tundra's hand and drag him into the elevator with him. Sonya watched on and said,"Kuai, I'll give you a call later, we can catch up!"

"That will not be necessary." Smoke snapped, closing the elevator doors. They pressed the button to their floor, and he leaned on the wall, arms crossed.

"Well...that was sudden. I didn't think we'd run into her so quickly." Tundra said. "She must be staying at the same hotel." Smoke said. Tundra took his hand and said,"I told you, whatever feelings I had for her are gone now. It was almost ten years ago." Smoke smiled a fake smile,"You think I give a damn about that? I didn't like her, I just found her stupid and incredibly rude."

"Sonya's not stupid, Tomas. She's a worldly agent-she"

"She didn't know where Prague was, and she was just..."

"Tomas, she knew where it was."

"Kuai, I'm not stupid, I saw the confused blank stare when I said Prague. Anyway, regardless, I just don't like her. You can be friends with her all you want, I don't care."

"You're jealous."

"I am not. What's there to be jealous of?"

Tundra shrugged.

"Because I'm your friend, and you're selfish."

Smoke blushed.

"Red suits you, Tomas Vrbada."

"Oh fuck you." Smoke snapped, when the doors to the floor opened. The two walked through the hall, with Tundra whistling, getting on Smoke's nerves when the two made it to their room.

When the door opened, the two were shocked with the room. It was two sizes too small. A tiny TV, a tiny deck, and one bed that took up too much space in the room. The floor was dirty with cigarette butts, and stunk like cigarettes, too.

"Ugh, seriously?" Smoke said. "You'd think a high quality hotel would have nicer, cleaner rooms, huh?" Tundra said. Catching the most of Smoke's attention was that small bed. It was far too small. And knowing Tundra, he wouldn't let him sleep on the dirty floor. Hell, he might even get in bed with him, then what? He knew they'd have to snuggle close together.

Not that Smoke minded, of course. But what about Tundra? What if he didn't like it? It's not like they had much of a choice.

"Looks like we're bunk buddies, Tomas!" Tundra said, belly flopping on the bed. "Bunk...what's that?" Smoke asked. His knowledge of the English language was still flawed. "As in, we're sleeping together tonight, and for the whole trip." Tundra said.

He laughed when Smoke's face turned as red as a tomato. "Oh relax, it's just like back home! So long as you don't put a fort in between us again."

They saw a bug crawl on the pillow, and Smoke said,"Come to think of it, I won't be touching those pillows. Or this bed..." "BED BUGS WHAT THE FUCK?" Tundra yelled,"alright, we're getting another room, let's go!"

The two then walked back to the front desk, demanding another room. After a few minutes of disputing and arguing, they finally got what they wanted, a penthouse suite at the very top of the hotel, giving the two a perfect view of Sydney, Australia.

The room was also sparkling clean, and had two beds side by side with ravishing, crisp clean white bedsheets, and a blue blanket. The pillows were soft and cushiony, the beds were Temperpedic, giving the two perfect back comfort. The floors were sparkling clean as well, red velvet carpet. The TV was huge, there were a few couches, and a kitchen with ovens, refrigerators and freezers there.

"Perfect." Smoke said, walking out to the balcony. He breathed in the summer air, the breeze making his hair fly back, when he removed his dress shirt, opting to only wear his jeans and a black tank top. Tundra was nearly breathless watching his hair fly in the wind. So ethereal, like a god, Tundra wanted to run out to the balcony and hold him forever.

He pushed the glass door back, and walked up to Smoke, wrapping his arms around his waist, laying his head on his shoulder. Smoke leaned into the embrace, he knew he shouldn't have, but he did.

He wondered why Tundra liked to hold him all the time. Not that he minded, in fact, he loved cuddling, and he loved the attention, but he really did want to know Tundra's true intentions.

Tundra noticed Smoke's lilac eyes looking at the beach down below him, and said,"You really like beaches, huh?" "Where I lived, I...I don't remember much, but I seem to recall not living near one."

Something about the beach must have triggered his memories, Tundra thought to himself. Smoke continued,"I remember, when I was a little boy...I think...my father...he took me to Greece, we spent a few days there, and I saw the beach and fell in love with it."

"Wanna go back? Do you remember where in Greece it was?" Tundra said. Smoke shook his head,"I just remember being there..the water was so crystalline, so pure, so clean. You couldn't take me out of the water, I was like a fish."

"Then if we have a mission there, I'll make that my top priority." Tundra said with a smile. Smoke smiled back and said,"I am so grateful for you."

"Aw shucks..." Tundra said. Now it was his turn to blush. "Hey. I sent some spies to go see if Kano was around. Until I hear back from them, wanna go to the beach?"

"Can we?" Smoke asked. "Yes, go get changed, and let's go." Tundra said, releasing Smoke and walking back into the room.

All changed, and the two made their way downstairs, and to the beach, which wasn't too far from the hotel. It was actually, just down the block. When they made it there, they noticed it wasn't as crowded as they thought. Maybe because it was later in the day.

None the less, the two men set up camp, placing their bags down, their towels, and an umbrella with a beer cooler underneath. Soon, they noticed, alot of people began to stare at them, making Smoke feel very uncomfortable. "Why are they staring at us, Kuai?" he asked.

Tundra smirked and removed his shirt, showing off his glistening muscles, that Smoke couldn't keep his blushing eyes from. "Because they've never seen anyone as gorgeous as us." he replied with a wink. "Now come on, start stripping and join me!" he added.

Smoke blushed and curled into himself, shaking his head. "Tomas, come on!" Tundra said. Smoke still shook his head. Finally, Tundra had enough. He grabbed Smoke and ripped off his tank top, and pulled down his shorts, gasping and blushing when he realized Smoke was wearing...

A SPEEDO?

"Tomas!" Tundra yelled.

Smoke blushed and said,"I..I couldn't find anything else! Honest!" He was as good as naked, and now everyone on the beach were staring. "Kuai, please! Why did you do that to me! Now everyone is staring!" Smoke yelled.

"You should have thought about that before you decided to come out in a crotch-hugging piece of panties!" Tundra said, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Oh no. No no no!" Smoke yelled, when Tundra tossed him over his shoulder, and ran into the water, powerbombimg Smoke into the waves. Smoke's body made a huge splash, and Tundra laughed, diving on him, holding the flailing fish under the water, as Smoke tried to wrestle back in defense.

Tundra laughed again. Could anything be better than this?

Without a care in the world, and their mission the last thing on their minds, they spent hours on that Sydney beach, wrestling, swimming, floating, just having fun. Smoke had never felt so alive, neither did Tundra.

Everything was so perfect.

Night had fallen on the beach, and the lifeguards were gone, the people were gone, it was just the two of them. The scene was quite romantic, actually. The water was up to their waist, the moonlight providing a perfect gleam over the waves, the stars providing more to the gorgeous scenery.

But to Tundra, nothing looked more gorgeous than the soaking Smoke. He was wet, the water dripping down his pale skin, his silver hair long and sticking to his body, the moonlight reflecting off his body, he'd never looked so beautiful.

Tundra swam over to him and asked,"Isn't this romantic, Tomas? Just you and me, the moon and stars our only witnesses." Smoke blushed, shivering as Tundra came closer and closer to him.

His eyes glanced over his body, eyes half lidded, eying him with lust.

"I've thought long and hard over this..."

Smoke gasped, when he was suddenly face to face with the man he loved the most. Tundra's hands came up from under the water and reached the sides of Smoke's face, stroking back his wet, sticky hair, so he could look upon his features.

"..and there isn't anyone I could possibly want more than you."

"Kuai! But you're.." Smoke gasped.

"Sexual preference be damned, I want you." Tundra said, stroking Smoke's cheeks. "Oh Kuai..." Smoke said, blushing. His heart was beating a mile a minute, so fast that he nearly passed out. He breathed out, when Tundra suddenly caught his lips for a slow, tender, passionate kiss.

Smoke's eyes grew wide, feeling Tundra's ice-cold lips closing and moving over his scalding ones. Yes, he had always wanted this, but he was surprised, had Tundra really initialized this?

The clash of hot and cold was enough to create steam around the two, and Smoke felt his heart skip a beat when Tundra's hands moved down his waist, squeezing the hips, and coming around to squeeze his perky ass.

Smoke had no other choice but to return the kiss. Not that he didn't want to, he had always dreamed of tasting Tundra, wanting to taste his coldness, wanted to embrace his coldness. The two pairs of lips closed and moved over the other so fluidly, they had to stop and breathe for the air the two were quickly losing.

"Kuai.." Smoke breathed, face completely flushed. Tundra smirked and moved his face again to kiss Smoke, when Smoke held him back. "Don't...don't tease me like this." he said.

"I'm not." Tundra said. "Don't bullshit with me, Kuai Liang. You're a straight man! Don't play with my heart like this!" Smoke yelled, pushing Tundra away. "Tomas!" Tundra yelled, when he saw Smoke stomp out of the water. He watched on sadly as Smoke toweled himself off and dressed, angrily walking back to the hotel.

"Wait...at least don't...don't walk around by yourself! Smoke! Wait for me!" Tundra yelled, running out of the water.

He sighed. And he didn't know how he could ever explain it to Smoke. Still, he didn't know why he had done it. Smoke just looked so delicious, and Tundra couldn't contain himself. He was a straight man, but he swore that he'd overlook it when it came to Smoke.

But he didn't know...did Smoke have true feelings for him?

"Goddamn it."

Tundra knew he'd have alot of explaining to do. If he could find Smoke first.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Tundra had finally caught up to Smoke. He found him sitting on the deck, in a chair with his arms crossed, looking out into the vast ocean. His silvery-grey hair was blowing in the wind, his shoulders hunched like he was still angry.

"You had me worried, just leaving like that." Tundra said. Smoke kept his back turned to him. "Hey. Come on, don't tell me you're still angry." he added. Still, Smoke kept his back turned. "Stop this drama queen act, you're a ninja, not a woman!" he yelled. Smoke finally turned around with an angry scowl on his beautiful face. "A ninja has feelings regardless. I still have a heart." Smoke said, holding his hands to his chest.

"And to think, for a second, I thought you actually liked me." he added. Tundra sighed and said,"I do, you idiot." "Liked me." Smoke said, putting emphasis on the word 'liked'. "You're such a drama queen...I don't even know why the Grandmaster even put us together. It's ridiculous. You're acting like a fucking woman with everything. First with Sonya, freaking out for no reason, then this, I'm sorry I even brought you here." Tundra snapped, leaving the deck.

"Wait...Kuai." Smoke said, but his words fell upon deaf ears, when the door slammed closed. He cringed at the loud sound and sighed, looking out to the water again. "I guess I am being a little too melodramatic. But I can't help it. I know he's just playing with me. I shouldn't have these feelings. I'm not fit to be a ninja."

"And for the record, Tomas-" Tundra said as he walked out. He stopped upon hearing Smoke's words and said,"Alright, alright. Enough. Just come inside for some sleep." Smoke turned around and ignored Tundra, walking right past him as he walked right into the shower.

Right where Tundra was going.

He heard the door close, and yelled,"Oh goddamn it!" Smoke smirked and locked the door, removed this clothing, and walked into the shower to rid himself of the day's toxins; Tundra's kiss, and the ocean outside. As he showered, his mind unwillingly went back to Tundra. Everything about that man drove him insane. He was gorgeous, he couldn't get that body figure out his mind. He wanted it to touch him. He wanted those hands to hold him, those lips to kiss him, those fingers to touch him.

Willingly, if Tundra asked, Smoke would let him have his way with him. He's decided on that a long time ago. Except for one obstacle. Kuai Liang is a straight man, he'd never. And yet he kissed him. His fingers danced on his lips, and remembered Tundra's lips on them. The kiss was so tender, so sweet. He wanted it again, he wanted it again and again, but he didn't know how to go about it.

Yes, he was angry at Tundra, but how angry could he be? And for how long? He loved him. And he wanted him. Being angry would get them nowhere. Especially on this mission. He had to remain professional, but how could he with everything going on at once? He sighed and lay his mops under the water, holding his hands to the wall, groaning in annoyance at everything.

He needed to relax. Exhaustion spread through his body as the warm water splashed against particular spots that bothered him; his legs, his back, his arms, he felt like he had been in an accident. Maybe he was just tired. Still, his body ached, his heart ached, as he switched the dials, making the water warmer. So warm, the room began to steam, and he sighed again, clutching his heart.

Tundra sat on the bed and removed his clothing, getting ready for bed. He had already dried off thanks to the hot Australian summer night, when he heard a light rapping at his window. Grabbing a small kunai, hiding it under his knuckle, he slowly walked to the window and sighed in relief at it being the ninjas he hired to find Kano.

"Any news?" he asked.

Smoke walked out of the bathroom slowly, looking over to see Tundra hunched over the window talking to someone. He saw a dark blue ninja suit and raised his eyebrow in curiosity. Anger formed in his body, annoyance? Maybe it was just fear. Who could Kuai be talking to, he thought to himself, and began walking towards them. "You're finally out. Listen, I hired some local ninjas to do some scouting for me."

"Kano was spotted outside of town with a dark haired American male. They were spotted getting weapons together for a Shang Tsung character." the ninja reported. Tundra nodded. "Then we have to make haste. They won't stay in one place for long." he said. Smoke nodded and said,"When do we make our move?" "In time." Tundra said,"I think sleep is in order first." He took out a wad of cash and put it into the ninja's hand, shooing him away, closing the window.

Turning to Smoke, he said,"I think you and I need to talk." Smoke nodded,"Yes. We do." Tundra sighed and said,"I guess I do have a lot of explaining to do. And we don't need this while on a mission, especially your first one. I think I should start by apologizing about my actions. Yes, I was caught in the moment...I couldn't stop. I didn't realize the hurt it would do." Smoke turned and said,"You didn't realize the hurt it would do? You didn't realize you'd be playing into my heart like this? I know I sound like an overly emotional woman, but.."

"Say what you need to. I'm the only one listening." Tundra said. Smoke nodded, but he couldn't help but think someone was listening to them. "Can we really trust those ninjas?" he suddenly asked. Tundra tilted his head and said,"Well...I hope so."

But little did they know they were being listened to.

"I was right." Sonya said, turning to her longtime partner, Jax Briggs. The large man turned to her as she listened in on her radio. "Tundra and that pretty boy are going after Kano.." "By the way they're talking, it seems they're lovers, too?" Jax asked. "Impossible. Tundra is as straight as it gets." Sonya said. "He did something to really upset the other guy." Jax said.

The blonde woman sighed and said,"Regardless...they can't take Kano away from me. He's mine!" "Sonya.." Jax said. "No. Don't try to talk me out of it...Kano is mine, and mine only. I won't let them get him." she said. He sighed and said,"There's no changing your mind, is there?" "No." she replied.

"Very well. Two can play at that game. If Tundra tries to take the most important thing from me, I'll simply take the most important thing from him." she added, with a determined growl.

Tundra entwined his fingers within Smoke's, and looked into his lilac eyes. "You're still mad at me. I know. And there's nothing I can do to change this. Still...I do apologize." he said. "Kuai...apologizing gets you nowhere. You'll just do it again, then it's more than just a mistake. Listen. I'm over it." Smoke said. Deep down, Tundra knew Smoke was lying, but tired of arguing.

Exhausted himself, Tundra fell to the pillows, and curled to himself. He was still holding on to Smoke's fingers, and had no intention of letting go. Smoke, however, was sleeping. Whether he knew or not his hand was behind held, his adorable, serene look betrayed any face of anger. He pulled Smoke to his side, surprised at how light he was in his sleep, like a doll, and wrapped his other arm around his slender waist.

He looked into those closed eyes, watching those slightly parted lips, watching his silver eyelashes flutter with every tiny snore, and watched as his heart melted.

"Sleep tight." was all he could say before allowing sleep to take him.

Morning came, and Smoke arose with the sun shining in their room. Smoke groaned and gasped at the feeling of someone holding him down. His eyes grew wide, but he stopped when he realized it was only Tundra. "G-good morning, Kuai." he whispered lightly, making sure not to wake up his friend.

Fingers curled around at Smoke's spine, and he felt a shiver go through his body. Tundra's head turned towards Smoke, as he was now sitting up on his side, his head crashed into Smoke's abdomen, his hair brushing against his flesh ever so slightly. Smoke looked down, Tundra wore a sleep-friendly smile, then a soft yawn left those lips.

Slowly, those blue eyes opened, and for a second, Smoke had seen the most beautiful sight of his life. "Hi beautiful." Tundra said with a smirk. "Hi." Smoke said, looking deeply into Tundra's blue eyes. "Heh. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're staring at me." he said. "I am not." Smoke pouted, wearing a heavy blush that he desperately tried to hide in his silver hair.

He growled and left the bed, running to pull the curtains away from the window. "It's day time, can we go out?" he asked,"please, can we?" "Um..don't you want to get breakfast first?" Tundra asked. "I can't train on a full stomach." Smoke said. "And I can't train with an empty one." Tundra said.

"Touche." Smoke said, raising an eyebrow. "Fine. We'll have breakfast, then we'll train." he added, opening the book for room service. "We'd look too weird if we tried to mingle with the crowd downstairs. What do you want?" Smoke asked. "Hmm...a big breakfast buffet. With pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast-" "KUAI!" Smoke interrupted,"I said breakfast, not eating like a pig!"

"Hmph. What you call being a pig is a healthy balanced diet." Tundra said,"Hm? Tomas?" But Smoke had his back turned to him, an ordered breakfast; two plates of pancakes with scrambled eggs and light buttered toast on the side.

When the order was finished, Smoke got back into the bed, sitting up against the bedpost, when Tundra turned to him, his body still laying down in the sheets. "You know, breakfast in bed is quite-" "Kuai." Smoke snapped. Tundra smirked, and decided to lightly brush against Smoke's feet with his.

"Kuai!" Smoke yelled, trying to stifle a giggle. But Tundra's attacks were relentless. Smoke retaliated, and the two began a game of footsies, that only ended when Smoke was kicked off the bed. He tried to pull Tundra down to begin another round of wrestling, but their food had arrived.

And so the two ate. Sinking into the bed with trays, they sat at the bedpost, eating to their hearts content. With all that food in his stomach, Smoke imagined a little trailing heart leaving Tundra's head. "How cute." he said to himself.

When the food was done, Smoke again ran to the window and looked out to the beach. "Now can we go play?" he asked, eagerly, like a child. Tundra let out a satisfied groan and tapped his stomach with a smile. "Hmm..let my food digest, that was awesome..."

"Kuai!" Smoke yelled, jumping up, grabbing Tundra's leg. "Oh Tomas...alright." Tundra said with a smile,"who could say no to that face?"

Together, the two ran out into the hot Australian sun, both men in shorts and tanks, had the women of Sydney swooning at them. They laughed and huddled down at a particular spot on the beach outside. "Race you up those piles of rocks there." Smoke said. Before Tundra could reply, Smoke was already a vapor, and nearly flew to the end post.

But Tundra wasn't about to let Smoke win that easily. Instead, he bended down and began to ice slide across the sand, right next to Smoke. When Smoke evaporated his power, he was pushed into the sand, and he yelled,"Hey! No cheating, Kuai!"

"Tomas...you vaporized." Tundra said with an exasperated tone. "Humph." Smoke said, crossing his arms. He shook the sand out of his hair and jumped on Tundra, throwing him into the water. Tundra screamed when his body hit the ice cold waters below him. He shivered, goosebumps forming on his skin, when Smoke appeared behind him.

"So much for sparing.." Tundra said, trying to get the water out of his ears. Turning to Smoke, he found himself staring at his beauty again. He knew that men shouldn't be beautiful, but something about this man...so feminine, yet..

"You're beautiful." he said, but quickly slammed his hand over his mouth. Smoke blushed, and said,"Yeah well, I'm sticky and yucky right now. And I think I've got seaweed in my ass and a crab biting at my big toe." Tundra chuckled at his sarcastic humor and said,"Well...at least get that hair out of your eyes."

"Humph. My hair is fine where it is." Smoke said, smirking when he flung a wave of water at him, splashing his entire body, sending him falling beneath the waves. "You jerk! I was off guard!" he yelled. Smoke laughed and said,"Fair game, Kuai." "Bastard." Tundra said, diving at Smoke.

But Smoke was already one step ahead of him. He vaporized again, and flew from the water, back to the sand, where he waved at Tundra, who was now nursing a wound, thanks to a crab that pinched his foot. "Get back here!" Tundra yelled, exiting the water, where he tried to chase Smoke, who was running down the dunes, further away from him.

Once again, he slid on his ice, and caught up to Smoke, grabbing him, holding him bridal style, as he skidded away. Smoke yelped as he was swept off his feet, wrapping his arms around Tundra's neck, the two crashing into the sand below them. "I still need to work on controlling my powers." he said with a blush, when Smoke shook the sand off him again.

Smoke laughed, a genuine laugh, his face happily shining in the sun, and he said,"Next time you decide to do that, let me know, so I can get away from you." "You liked it." Tundra said. "I feel like a little kid." Smoke said, still keeping that silly smile. "I'm glad I could be of service." Tundra said.

The two stood, staring at each other for a while, when Tundra got into his fighting stance. Smoke followed, and the two began to spar. Neither man let down for a second, a series of punches and kicks were thrown. Tundra parried Smoke's oncoming punch, and grabbed his arm, throwing him a few inches away.

Quickly, Smoke got up, and kicked Tundra flat in the chest. The blue ninja flew back, but caught his breath, right when Smoke threw a smoke bomb at him.

Flying into the air, feeling weightless, he floated for a good second, until he fell, and Smoke smirked, catching his friend.

"Surely you can do better than this, Kuai." Smoke said, holding his hand on his hip, with some sass. Tundra laughed and said,"Don't get cocky, kid, I'm still miles better than you." "Sure you are." Smoke said with a smirk, flicking his long hair back.

Tundra looked into his lilac eyes and said,"Then I'll show you everything." The tone of voice, that husky tone, sent shivers up Smoke's spine, and he shivered in anticipation of his next move. He got into his fighting stance, and motioned for Tundra to come, when he felt a raindrop on his shoulder.

Smoke looked up at the sky; the two were so absorbed in each other, they hadn't even noticed the sky turned grey. Mist floated around the two, the waters turned more rough, when more raindrops fell. Not ones to be deterred, Smoke and Tundra were ready to fight again, when they saw lifeguards driving around on their ATV's, calling for the beach to be closed.

Dejected that they couldn't continue their fight, Smoke and Tundra were silent when they began the short trek back to their hotel room again. Dirtied and full of sand, now heavily weighed down due to soaked clothing, the walk was a bit longer than it should have been.

That and they defiantly planted their feet to the ground, irking the lifeguards. A bolt of lightning and a loud clap of thunder caused Smoke to jump, and Tundra to laugh at him. Begrudgingly, they walked to the hotel, annoying the staff by bringing in the storm and sand, covering their normally spotless floor.

Smoke of course, feigned innocence on the charges that he couldn't speak English, while Tundra followed suit, and they ran on the elevator, back to their room. "This sucks." Tundra sighed, watching as Smoke bent over and shook the rain of his hair like a puppy.

"I wonder why I get a feeling that wasn't a normal rain. The drops didn't feel like they usually should. Unless it's merely an Australian rainstorm." Smoke said, looking at his knotted hair. Tundra could only look on in awe at how gorgeous Smoke looked when wet. He tried to ignore the thoughts in his mind, turning his head, clenching the metallic wall behind him.

"Must not think horny thoughts."

"Must not think horny thoughts."

"Must not think-"

"Kuai? Are you listening?" Smoke asked, ripping Tundra from his reverie.

"Soft pillowed lips, pink like a flower, flushed face, those wet muscles.."

"Kuai!" Smoke shouted a bit louder, waving his hand in Tundra's face. "Eh? Oh. Hello Tomas." Tundra said with a sheepish smile. "Pervert." Smoke pouted, crossing his arms. Tundra was about to reply, when the elevator pinged, letting them know they made it to their floor.

"I was not thinking about anything else other than what you just said, hey! Don't look at me like that!" he said, holding his hands up in innocence as they walked back to the room. "Oh really, Kuai Liang. What did I just say then?" Smoke asked, looking deeply into his eyes.

"I..er...um.." Tundra stammered, holding his hand behind his head. "Hmph." Smoke said, turning his heel, walking further away from Kuai, with a satisfied smirk on his face. Tundra couldn't help but notice the way Smoke's hips danced at his body's movement, and again, found himself thinking bad thoughts.

"Let's just go to our room and order room service." Smoke said, causing Tundra to nearly choke. The silver haired ninja smirked and held his hand to his stomach and said,"All that training made me hungry. What are you in the mood for?"

"Eh?" Tundra asked, his blue eyes piercing into Smoke's lilac. "I mean food, asshole. What the hell is wrong with you all of a sudden?" Smoke asked. They opened the door to their hotel room, unbeknownst to them, they had left a trail of water and sand behind.

Made it nothing short of simple to find them.

"Too easy.." Sonya said with a smirk.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Muffled breathing was heard behind the door.

Then, a loud crash.

Sonya's eyes grew wide as she pressed her ear to the hotel room door. Smoke cried Sub Zero's name, followed by a crash against the wall.

Another crash, and another.

He cried his name again. "Either they're fighting or..well, I don't want to think about the other option." Jax said.

The sounds behind the door stopped, and was replaced with laughter. Smoke leaned against the wall, sitting on the floor, laying his arm over a broken table.

He was shirtless again, his skin shiny with sweat and red with exertion, his lilac eyes looking upon his partner, who looked the same. "Holy shit. Luckily the bill's on the Grandmaster." Sub Zero said, looking at the destruction in the room.

Tables were flipped over, pieces of wood broken all over the place, papers all over, the two lamps on the side fallen and shattered. The two lay across from each other, eyes on each other, breathing deeply. "Can we..just lay here forever?" Smoke breathed. "Wouldn't you rather be in my arms?" Sub Zero asked.

"Don't push your luck, Kuai." Smoke said with a laugh. Sub Zero laughed deeply, causing a shiver down Smoke's spine. Two knocks came to the door, both men looked at it with surprised looks.

"Kuai Liang?" a feminine voice asked from behind the door. "Sonya?" Smoke mouthed, cocking his head at the door. Sub Zero nodded.

"Yeah?" he called. "We heard some complaints from this room and came to check on you guys. Is everything ok?" it wasn't that much the truth, but it wasn't much a lie either. She really wanted to check up on them, for Kano's sake.

Instead, they had walked into something else.

"It's fine. Tomas and I had a little fun, that's all." Sub Zero said with a smile. Sonya sighed and rolled her pretty blue eyes. "Alright Kuai. See you around. There's a dinner special at the resturaunt, all guests get 50% off their meal. Just thought I'd let you know." she said, suddenly looking for something to say, to lessen the awkwardness of the situation. "

"Oh. Thanks dear. Bye." Sub Zero said, and with that, he got up, and began to clean the room. Smoke helped, too. After they were finished cleaning, Smoke lay in the bed, resting comfortably, when Sub Zero lay his head on his lap. "What do you want?" Smoke asked, letting his hands run slowly through Sub Zero's hair.

"Nothing, I just like the view." he replied with a smirk, to which Smoke smacked him with a pillow. Sub Zero grabbed another pillow, ready to beat the daylights out of Smoke, when they were stopped by a local ninja knocking on the windows.

"Another Kano sighting. But it was so quick, they didn't have the chance to stop him." Sub Zero said, when the ninja was gone.

"I still don't trust them. How do you know they aren't working for Kano, and they're actually telling him about us?" Smoke asked, his arms crossed.

Sub Zero smirked and said, "Do you know how cute you look when you pout?" "What?" Smoke yelled, "I'm too old to be cute!" "You don't even know how old you are." Sub Zero retorted.

Smoke was about to utter another reply, when his stomach growled. "Pig." Smoke snapped. "Get yourself ready, princess. I'm hungry, and dinner is on a discount!"

"I am not a girl! Stop calling me princess!"

Once again, he pouted, causing Sub Zero to laugh. "I think I have a dress that would go perfect with that little figure of yours."

As he spoke, he nudged Smoke to the mirror, and ran his hand over his hips, running his nose against his neck and shoulder.

Smoke trembled.

Sub Zero growled internally, feeling that body tremble beneath his touch. "Stop it, Kuai. I'm not going to melt under you like some teenage girl." Smoke snapped.

"No, but you trembled. That's at least something."

He smirked, ready to be attacked by Smoke, but instead, found himself alone when the door to the bathroom closed.

Looking at his hands, he thought about Smoke's body's reaction to being touched. How his body shook and grew warm under his touch.

He shuddered just thinking about it; if he's that warm from just a simple fondle, god...how he'd react when intimate...

He could have drooled at the thought. Now that things were a lot more friendly between the two...

Quickly, he was taken out of his thoughts when Smoke exited the bathroom, having changed out of his work-out gear, cleaning up to look like the ultimate gorgeous man.

Hair perfect and flowing. White collar shirt that was left open at the first two buttons(giving Sub a nice view-he figured he'd mess with him tonight, too). And figure hugging black pants that Sub-Zero couldn't keep his eyes off.

No man should have a figure like that. But he could work it to his advantage. And sometimes, they were just born like that.

Of all the luck. At least Smoke wouldn't get confused with something else..

Protection came to mind; Smoke was his. His friend, his partner, if anyone so much batted an eyelash at him, they would be dead.

"You're scowling." Smoke said.

He didn't even realize it.

Fastening the last two buttons of his dark blue shirt, he slicked his black hair back and looked at himself in the mirror, bringing Smoke with him.

"Damn we look good." he said,"I bet even Hattori Hanzo didn't look this good when attending parties."

"It's just dinner, you know." Smoke said. "Says the one all decked out like you. Look, white dress shirt, nice dress pants...that strong-ass cologne." Sub Zero retorted, causing Smoke to blush.

"Yeah, well..." he began, when Sub Zero said,"..I know, you're from Europe."

The two began to leave the room, when Sub Zero pulled Smoke close to him. So close that their bodies pressed. Sub Zero's nose pressed against Smoke's, lips close to the others, when he said,"Stay close to me, Tomas. Don't leave my sight."

He didn't take into account that Smoke trembled in his hold again.

Smoke blushed; he didn't want to reveal how much his possessiveness was a turn-on.

As they were ready to leave the room, Smoke's eyebrow quirked. "What is it, Tomas?" Sub Zero asked, when he saw Smoke bend over for a letter.

"We're invited to some party.." he replied. Sub-Zero's eyebrow quirked as well. Smoke handed over the letter and Sub Zero began to read.

"Huh...it seems it's in an uptown area..a private party." he said. "Private party?" Smoke asked. Sub Zero shrugged,"It doesn't sound like Lin Kuei."

"Then who would invite us..." Smoke said,"we should go anyway, to investigate."

"And what if it's a trap?" Sub Zero asked. Smoke smirked and replied,"You're a trained assassin.."

"I hate to kill. Unlike most assassins that you've heard of, I have a heart of gold." he replied.

"And yet.." Smoke said. "..it's my job. It's really the only thing I have. I can't just enter a normal life, I've been with the Lin Kuei for as long as I can remember. Oh I've tried it. Tried normalcy, went to school, dated a girl, but I just came right back here."

Smoke hummed in response. "Let's go then."

Sub Zero looked at the address on the postcard again and said,"Yeah, let's go.

Still untrusting. The two of them left the hall, and went to the lobby, when Sonya watched them again.

As they walked outside towards the taxi lot, Smoke couldn't help the piercing eyes burning a hole in his back. "Everything ok?" Sub Zero asked. Smoke turned around for a second, then shook his head. "Yeah. Everything is fine, Kuai."

Sub Zero looked back as well, but was pushed forward by Smoke, and into the taxi.

Behind them, they were indeed being watched. Sonya rose up from her table, and left the restaurant. Following close behind was Jax, who tried to protest with her.

But she would hear none of it. Instead, she quickly jumped into another taxi and demanded it follow them.

As the taxi drove through town, Sub Zero couldn't help but notice how on-edge Smoke looked. The grey-haired man kept looking out the window, his shoulders were raised, he just looked all around nervous.

"Tomas...what is wrong?" Sub Zero asked. He lay his hands on Smoke's shoulders and began to massage, Smoke leaning back into his touch. "I'm just..uneasy. I just don't feel right." he admitted.

"I'm here. It's ok to feel nervous." Sub Zero said. Smoke rolled his eyes,"like that's reassuring." "Tomas.." Sub Zero sighed. "I...I appreciate it." Smoke said with a warm blush.

Sub Zero couldn't deny just how cute Smoke looked when with red cheeks.

As if he could sense the other's perverted eyes on him, Smoke growled and was about to fight, but the taxi stopped and let them out. Smoke went into his wallet to get money, but the driver simply shooed him off and drove away.

Now things were getting too weird.

And Smoke couldn't stop that rising feeling in his spine.

"You're tense." Sub Zero said, when the two entered the swanky-looking hotel. "And I suppose you'll be the one to offer the support in form of something pervert-" Smoke said, before he was interrupted by the sound of two men decked out in suits approached them.

"So you two must be Kuai Liang and Tomas Vrbada. Come with us."

Smoke and Sub Zero exchanged confused looks and nodded, following carefully.

And still Smoke was uneasy. He walked closely to Sub Zero, his hand slowly brushing against his. Sub Zero could tell how tense he was, but tried to remain calm.

"Right this way." the two men said, leading Smoke and Sub Zero into a banquet hall.

They looked up and the lights turned on, with balloons and a banner of the Lin Kuei falling from the ceiling.

"So much for the Lin Kuei's privacy. Throwing an extravagant party in the middle of Australia..." Sub Zero said. And for the first time today, he was beginning to feel just as uneasy.

For a second, Smoke thought he saw Sektor and Cyrax.

Sub Zero did, too. But they quickly disappeared down a hallway.

"Here." Sub Zero said, turning to his friend, handing him a drink. Perhaps if he was intoxicated, he'd get rid of that sinking feeling.

"I..." Smoke said, almost in protest. "Drink, be merry. Let's party. I promise I won't get so drunk that I can't keep an eye on you." Sub Zero said with a smile. Smoke chuckled,"Like I can believe that." He downed the shot that Sub Zero gave him, a clear, strong-tasting drink. "What is this?" he asked, swallowing the burn that turned his throat aflame, and his eyes into tears.

"Cognac." Sub Zero said, taking another shot.

Smoke swallowed and said,"Give me another one."

Four shots later, Smoke began to grow a bit more intoxicated by the minute. But he still held a level head. Sub Zero made sure of that.

He took his hand into his, and smiled. Smoke didn't know if he liked where this was going, but he threaded his hand through his anyway.

"Dance with me." Sub Zero said, causing Smoke to blush wildly.

"I'm drunk, I'll fall down. I'll look like a fool. Besides, the Lin Kuei will talk about us." Smoke said. "One, I wouldn't let you fall. And two, who cares, let them talk. I hate those guys anyway." Sub Zero growled, pulling Smoke to the dance floor.

Sub Zero wrapped his arm around Smoke's slender figure, and with his other hand, took Smoke's hand. They slowly began to dance, when Smoke questioned,"And you don't find this odd that the Lin Kuei suddenly decided to have a party out in the open like this?"

"Shhh...I do find it odd. Play along with me." Sub Zero said. He surely had a plan in his mind. Smoke could only look on in confusion. He was about to speak, when Sub Zero spun him around. "Stay by my side, Tomas. I won't let you go." Sub Zero said softly, into his grey hair.

If only Sub Zero could hear the sound of Smoke's heart melting.

He had him spinning, swooning like a maiden. Smoke wasn't sure if he should like it or not, but the warm feeling was so...immaculate.

If only...he could put his mind at ease.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Smoke was relaxed. He let out a sigh when Tundra's warm hand moved up and down his spine, as he took another shot of Cognac. Tundra took a shot as well. "As I said, stay by me." he said, nearly putting him on his lap. "Still uneasy..." Smoke said.

"Come with me." Tundra said. Together he and Smoke left the main hall, and began to explore in the mansion. "Are you sure this is a Lin Kuei place? It's so-"

"It's a trap." Tundra said,"we gotta get out of here...and get back home."

As the two began walking towards an exit, they were greeted by a man standing at the doorway, dressed in all black.

His hair was long, stringy and dead, hanging down his hips. He wore brown pants and a black top, with a gas tank on his shoulders, and a facemask.

"Jesus Christ..." Smoke said. "Kabal..." Tundra said,"...they say he was originally a police officer in New York until an accident nearly took his life. The Black Dragon Clan...rebuilt him..."

Kabal was breathing heavily, his dark eyes glaring holes into the two, when he took out his weapons; twin hook swords. He held them over his head, and got ready to fight. Smoke and Tundra got into a fighting stance as well, but they were all interrupted when Kano, the leader of the Black Dragons, walked out.

He laughed, and began walking towards the pair.

"You sure have a lot of guts coming here...under the cover of night...like true ninjas."

His eyes went up and down on Smoke, and he said,"A new kid, huh? I can see how terrified he looks...how adorable...and how...pretty." Smoke's eyes grew wide when Kano came closer, the scent of whiskey and grease all over him. He cringed, clenching into himself, when his face pressed to his. "Such a pretty man...I might just have to keep you for myself..."

"Get away from him." Tundra growled.

"Oh?" Kano asked with a laugh, getting in his face,"have I stuck a nerve here?" He stood up straight as Kano's face came close to his, reaching around to entwine his fingers in Smoke's. "You should have known better. A rookie mistake, kid. Those ninjas you paid were working for me the entire time. And now...I'm gonna send you both home in a body bag."

"KANO!"

Everyone jumped when a female's voice reverberated through the halls.

Like a blur, Sonya ran at Kano, with an exasperated Jax chasing after. She launched herself at Kano, and before he could react, she had her legs wrapped around his neck. Kabal tried to interfere, but Jax grabbed him and threw him to the ground.

"Tomas! Now!" Tundra yelled, calling on his partner to turn the room to smoke. He threw a smoke ball, engulfing the entire hallway, and the two escaped. Quickly, the two managed to make it back to their hotel.

"My god..." Smoke breathed, when they collapsed to the floor. Tundra took a hold of Smoke's hand and squeezed tenderly. "Kuai..." he sighed, curling to him,"if Sonya or that other guy doesn't kill Kano...we're screwed...the...Lin..Kuei...they're in danger." "Tomas..." "No...don't try to sugarcoat it..we can't go back." Smoke said, shaking his head. "Stop it. Everything will be ok..." "What did the Lin Kuei want with the Black Dragon Clan anyway...?" Smoke asked.

"I have no idea." Tundra said. Still, a chill ran down his spine at the thought. Smoke noticed it, and took a seat beside his friend. The pair sat on a chair out on the deck, over-looking the outside beach. He put an arm around Smoke's shoulders and smiled, knowing the beach calmed him down. Though he couldn't shake the thoughts away completely. "We leave in the morning." Tundra said. "Yes. The sooner the better." Smoke agreed, and the two went to bed.

As Tundra slept, Smoke stayed awake. Laying in his arms, he curled closer into his hold, watching him sleep. Tundra's hand moved up and down his spine, and he moaned in content. Smoke's hand curled into Tundra's chest, trembling as the night's events transpired in his mind again and again. "Tomas..." Tundra said. The two pairs of eyes looked at each other, and he added,"You're not sleeping."

"No. I can't sleep." Smoke replied. Tundra adjusted himself so that he was face to face with his friend, and said,"Relax. I told you...everything will be alright. What the Grandmaster doesn't know can't hurt him." "Something troubles you, too?" Smoke asked, looking at the apprehension in his friend's bright blue eyes. "Yeah." Tundra replied. He wrapped his arms around Smoke's waist, holding him tight. "What did the Lin Kuei want with the Black Dragons...I don't like it..."

Smoke tried to shake the thought out his mind, only wanting to revel in his friend's arms around him, but he couldn't. "Force me to sleep...or something.." he said. Tundra exhaled softly, and kept his eyes on Smoke. He was silent. He wasn't sure what Smoke had in mind when he said that, but his mind went elsewhere.

"I."

But he refused to say more, when Smoke turned his back and curled to the pillows. He then sighed and turned his back, too, falling asleep.

The rays of the morning shown into the room. In his sleep, Smoke turned over, and he once again found himself in Tundra's arms. "Good morning to you, too, Tomas." Tundra said with a smirk, looking down at his sleeping friend. Smoke woke up upon hearing his friend's voice, and the two quickly got out of bed.

"Time to leave." he said, and his friend nodded.

Silently, the two checked out of the hotel, and took a taxi back to the airport. They looked normal, in pants and dress shirts, trying to look as unsuspicious as possible.

The plane ride was quiet. Early in the morning, the plane wasn't crowded, and the two could relax. Smoke put his seat back and curled into a blanket, as Tundra drank a small glass of wine, keeping his eye on him. He took note of how calm he looked when he slept. He looked at those snowflake-like eyelashes and smiled. "Sleep well. We'll be home soon."

In the back of his mind, he still couldn't shake the events that transpired the night before. Everything happened so fast. All he could think about was how close he was to losing Smoke, and the thought that they had not only failed a mission, but managed to put the Lin Kuei in danger.

He sighed and leaned back, one eye on Smoke, the other, looking around for danger.

They returned to the Lin Kuei stronghold a few hours later. Smoke was well-rested, but still apprehensive. As long as Tundra was by his side, he'd be strong..or so he thought.

Smoke and Tundra entered their room quietly, putting their things away, and changed back to their Lin Kuei suits. "Do I even deserve to wear this?" Smoke asked, looking down at himself. "Relax. Everything will be fine." Tundra said. Smoke shook his head and growled,"You keep saying this. Over and over again..."

"What else can...should I say, Tomas?" he asked, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Tell me the truth so I can stop worrying.." Smoke replied.

They left the room and began the trek to the Grandmaster's room. "What of Cyrax and Sektor? I thought I saw them on our trip." Smoke said, shuddering when they walked past the showers. Tundra raised an eyebrow at Smoke's raised shoulders, and hurried him through the halls.

"It was only for a second, but I know they were there.." he added. "Disillusioned." Tundra said. Smoke growled and walked faster, away from Tundra, until he reached the room. Tundra appeared behind him, and together, they walked in.

The Grandmaster looked up from his tea, and looked upon the pair as they sat down on the mat, bowing their heads.

"You two have returned."

His voice was cold. So cold that it sent chills down their spines. The Grandmaaster stood up straight, looking them in their eyes.

"Tell me. Were you two successful?"


End file.
